Cliche Guide to a Classic Romance
by IdleFlame
Summary: Not really a guide to romance. Hinata leaves a couple gifts at naruto's door without a card saying who it's from, confusing poor Naruto. Everything picks up from there even if Naruto's not really sure about what's going on.
1. Chapter 1

**Yay! new story! first mushy romance type of thing. . .Yeah Just a Romance fic for the all too common Hinata Naruto pairing. . .Sorry if it sucks, Im not a really romantic person and it's hard to right a Romance story when you don't really have a romantic bone in your body. **

**Anyway I plan to like my other story have atleast ten chapters to this fic I have only written out to so far, Depending on how many people actually read this and like it, I might add the next chapter in a day or two or I might just delete the story...**

**Also if you've read 'The Missing files' and liked it, I'm sorry but I'm going to delete it. I never really thought any of it out and so I'm going to delete it and start on the next part of it, 'Riza's Revenge' and hopefully it will do alot better.**

**But anyhoo this is a Naruto fic and I'm pretty sure you want to read the actual story so. . .**

****

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto_**

**Step One: Flowers and Chocolate!**

Naruto smiled happily as he stirred his freshly made ramen. He was just about to sit and eat the food when there was a knock at his door.

Naruto grumbled to him self hoping that if he stayed quiet the person would go away, however to his misfortune the knock came again, and again, and again.

"Alrighty all ready I'm coming!!" He shouted getting up from his comfy seat and stomping over to the door mumbling inaudably about this and that.

Finally reaching the door he swung it open mouth open and ready to shout out random insults to who ever disturbed his sacred eating time. Instead his eyes held vast amounts of confusion and although his mouth was no longer the size of canada it still hung open. Because There where some one should have been waiting to be greeted was not a person but instead a small heart shaped box with a rose on top.

Curiously Naruto picked up the box and flowers. He looked around for any signs of life other then the normal bustle of the streets. Anything that seemed suspicious or out of place but found none.

Scratching his head and turning around, he closed the door with his foot. He walked to his table sitting the rose down and quickly opened up the heart box.

He grinned happily at the small pieces of candy inside and started popping them into his mouth three at a time, not worried one bit that they might be drugged with some deadly poison or that he'd get sick. He was living in the here and now. And here and now he had some candy, he'd worry about the after affects when the time came.

Five minutes later when all the chocolates were gone, naruto decided to look for a card. However he found none.

"Weird, maybe they put it on the box..." Naruto picked up the box and searched it carefully. But his search was deemed pointless when he found nothing on the box or the flower.

Naruto being the naive boy that he was, was highly confused why you would give somebody something like candy and not take the credit, although the flowers confused him even more so. Sakura gave Lee, Sasuke and himself flowers when they were in the hospital after mission or such.

Did the person think that Naruto was sick? No that couldn't be it. He was walking around town all day and went to the team meeting. So no one could possibly think he was ill.

Naruto crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back onto his couch trying harder to think. He looked up at his ceiling and then over to his wall where pictures were randomly hung. He saw one of sakura and Kakashi. Sasuke had refused to be in the picture for one reason or another.

Kakashi was standing there reading his book, Sakura was pointing accusingly at him Yelling about one thing or another, and even though his whole being wasn't in the shot, Naruto with his bad camera skills had managed to get part of Sasuke arm and a part of his own thumb.

Sakura had hit naruto a couple times for taking a picture while she was in her 'ugly' mode as she now called it. Naruto gave a smile at the memory and looked back up at the ceiling and continued thinking.

Naruto then remembered something. Sakura once said something about Lee sending her flowers. 'He probably did it because he liked her. Everything he does now is because he likes her'.

Then again when Sakura talked about it, she seemed more angry then anything. Why would some one send something to someone they liked to make them angry?

Did he purposly send the flowers to anger her. ' No that can't be right!! Why would lee want to anger her?!!'

Naruto let out frustrated growl and sat up quickly. He rubbed his hands threw his hair dramatically messing it up more so then usual before slouching over and biting back a complaint about his newly forming headache.

"This is way to confusing . . .Maybe Iruka sensei would know something!" He exclaimed to himself jumping up and heading to the door.

Behind a bush nearby, a small figure peaked out from behind a bush, watching as the self proclaimed blonde future hokage ran off before jumping onto a random rooftop before disappearing.

"N-naruto. . ." the figure said as a light blush tinted there face.

"Hinata? Uh. . .What are you doing in that bush?"

The small girl gasped in shock spinning around to look at her teammates her blush having increased ten fold. "I-I was just, um you see I was...just..."

Kiba looked over at shino who was as stoic as ever. But his line of sight was turn slighlty upwards to the large building. How did kiba know the man with sunglass on was looking? Well when one worked with an aburame for so long one took notice of these things. It help a lot with misssions.

Kiba followed the mans gaze and smirked when he reached one of the small windows. He chuckled and placed a hand on the girls shoulder. "Hinata, if you keep following him around like this people will think your stalking him."

Hinata looked down at the ground while her friend laughed. "I know but. . .I just want him to. . .notice me a bit more." she sid trying to explain her voice wavering as she tried to talk more confidently.

"That won't work if you hide in bushes, Hinata" Shino mumbled looking as far as the to could tell irritated. When he was irritated he would use there names in a stern tone like when scolding a child. It was pretty funny once you got used to it.

Hinata let out a small sigh and brought her hands infront of her wringing them together. "I know it's just that. . .well. . ."

-----------------

"Iruka-Sensei!!!!"

Iruka didn't have time to turn around as the blonde tackled him, sending both flying to the gound. "N-naruto, good afternoon...would you mind getting off me."

The blonde laughed and rubbed the back of his head giving the man a sheepish smile while helping him up. "Sorry Iruka Sensei, But I've been looking everywhere for you! I need help!!" He said shouting the last part like it was urgent.

"Why what's wrong? What happened?" The older man asked starting to half way panic while wondering if this was really something he should worry about or if the blond was exagerating.

"YouseeI waseatingramenthentherewasaknockatmydoorandIfoundflowersandaboxofcandyandnoone wastheresoIdon't-"

"Naruto, breath!" Iruka said cutting him off. "Now calmly tell me whats going on."

Naruto gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine but treat me to Ramen!"

"And why would I do that?" Iruka asked eyebrow raised.

"Because I'm the best student you've ever had." He said giving the man the puupy eye's.

Iruka smiled. " Nice try but you were one of my worse students." the teacher watched as his former student pouted resisting a laugh the older man spoke up again. "How about we go to Ichiraku's and I buy you one bowl, the rest you can pay for yourself."

"ALRIGHT!!" Naruto yelled running towards his favorite eating place.

Iruka trailed after the boy having a feeling that his wallet was going to be empty by the end of the day.

---------------

Hinata was blushing furiously as the dog lover kept laughing.

"You actually got him that!!" He laughed out loudly making the time girl look around to make sure no one heard. "Oh man! What I wouldn't give...to see the look on his face!!" Kiba said continuing to laugh.

Shino looked at hinata silently taking pity on her. Her turned his stare over to the other male. "Kiba, your embarrassing Hinata."

Kiba forced himself to stop laughing. "It's not my fault..."

"It's not Hinata's fault either. It's not like she knows what Naruto thinks." Shino snapped sliding his handsinto his pockets.

Hinata glance at the ground as the two who seemed to have gotten into an arguement. It was a daily thing so she was used to it. There was a saying that Kurenai once told her when she asked her why they fought all the time. Her teacher simply replied 'Boys will be boys.'

Hinata looked up in realization. "Kiba? Shino?" The two boys stopped arguing to look over at the female infront of them. Hinata gulped feeling the familiar lump in her throat. "C-could you guys..um well Would you help me find something that...that Naruto would like?" she asked hopefully putting her hands together subconsciously praying.

Kiba smirked and put and arm around her shoulders in a friendly manner. "How could we say no to you, Hinata? Your like the little baby sister I wish I had!" he exclaimed giving her a grin.

Hinata smiled back and turned her head to her other teammate. "So you'll help to Shino?"

Shino looked at her. He didn't really like shopping and he really didn't feel like going but somehow he found himself nodding and agreeing to go. His father always said to help out your team. On and Off the field.

Hinata's smile grew and she giggled a little before dragging them to the market.

**Yay! first chapter although short. . .is done. Yes once again I believe they are out of character, but dammit it's hard to keep them in character when you have a small attention span, seriously I was looking over at my cats (who I now believe to be insane) Every five seconds...when I was looking at the tv . . .well I gotta go it's 12 in the afternoon and I gotta go to park with my little cousins...I'm gonna get a headache I just know it**

**-IdleFlame**


	2. Meeting at The Park

_Yay! second chapter...and it's up so fast..._

_Yeah... it was already three fourths written, I'm only like...a paragraph into the third one though but I should have it done soon. and with all the idea's i have for it, it will be at least 10 chapters long. Either way I hope everyone who's reading likes the story so far. Soon I won't have much time for writing because a classes and everything going on...so yeah just to warn you ahead of time. But it will be completed, that I am sure of. _

_Enough of my talking Heres the story!_

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own naruto_!**

**Step two - meeting in the park.**

"And I looked around y'know. but there wasn't anyone there. "

Iruka sat there, hiding his small smile and holding back tears of sorrow behind the bowl of Ramen which was now unusually close to his face. 'These kids...they grew up so quick!'

"Uh...sensei?" Naruto asked exchanging his confused expression for a worried one. "Are you ok,"

Iruka snapped out of his thought and sat normally again, his wise teacher appearance back in place, and was now eating at a much calmer fashion. "I'm fine Naurto. I was just think about your situation."

"do you always eat like pig when your thinking?"

"What?! You idiot maybe you should watch yourself eat once in a while!" Iruka yelled knocking him in the head a couple times, leaving bumps that would surely bruise over night.

Naruto grabbed his head from the pain and mumbled curses under his breath. If there was on thing Iruka could do, it was inflict pain onto his former pupil for not thinking twice about his choice of words.

The older man cleared his throat and leaned back, slighty making sure not to fall off. "Now, Naruto." Iruka started when he once again had the blonds attention. "your over exaggerating"

Naruto's mouth hung open for a second before replying slowly. "but there was No. One. There!! are you even listening to me?!" It ended in a shout with the boy waving his arms for a more dramatic effect.

Iruka chuckled at the younger boy, who seemed to grow taller with out growing any wiser. He seemed to have this childish sense of mind that would never disappear. In most cases this was good, but with certain things like this however it was bad. "Naruto, remember how you said Lee gave Sakura flowers all the time?"

The boy blinked and suddenly stopped waving his arms, before nodding and sitting down to hear the explanation of his former teacher. 'finally'

Iruka watched naruto in slight amusement before continuing. "You see when some one like a person they tend to buy them things, such as flowers and chocolate. sometimes jewelry."

"But why would I want any of that stuff? isn't that stuff a little girly. "

Iruka nodded , "Normally...Traditionally It would be a male giving a gift to a girl that he liked. The boy would buy something that he thought would intrest a girl. And girl who have a gentle or kind personality would often like flower, a girl of higher maintenance often likes jewelry. And a girl with a sweettooth would like candy or something sugary. "

Naruto gave Iruka a blank look, his noddles hanging half way out of his mouth, looking quiet confused. "wha. . ."

"Don't talk with your mouth full!!" Iruka reprimended, Wacking Naruto on the head twice. Once for talking with a full mouth. The second time just to make sure the message got threw to him.

Five minutes of whining later, naruto was back to eating his Ramen.

"so you mean the person who left me those thing was a guy?"

Iruka looked at Naruto's scared face and resisted his urge to so 'yes'. Iruka instead gave him a small smile and shook his head. "No, Naruto. Think about it. If you liked another boy" Iruka sighed seeing naruto about to yell. SO he calmly waited and as soon as naruto opened his mouth, Iruka took noodles from his own bowl and quickly shoved them in he blonds mouth. "Like I said IF you liked another boy. Would you get him flowers and candy?"

Naruto glared, sucked up the noodles and seemingly swallowed them with out chewing. He looked at Iruka thinking about the question.

Iruka started to worry when Naruto's face started getting red from frustration and started growling to himself. SO The teacher did the only thing he could do. He held his breath waiting for the future hokage to start screaming.

Fortunately for Iruka and everyone else within a two mile radius, the blonde calmed down and finally just opted for shaking his head. "No I don't think so. I mean I liked the candy and the flowers where pretty I guess but I mean I see flowers all the time, around town and when I go on missions. I go pass the flower shop everyday to get to the training grounds. It's not really all that special."

"And that's true for most boys, but to a girl, it's very different."

Naruto groaned frustrated and dropped his head onto the table. "This is so confusing, girls are weird!" Naruto continued commenting on the behavior of girls while Iruka listened and in the far back of his mind a little voice was agreeing with Naruto. Because yes, the female mind was a very complicated thing, It always has been and always will be.

"Hey Iruka," Naruto sstarted picking up his head from the table, "You said it was a girl, but that's a little impossible." Naruto just saw Iruka gave him a questioning look, so decided to continue. "Well I mean, the only girls around my age are, Sakura, Ino, tenten and hinata, right Well it couldn't be Sakura or Ino cause there always chasing Sasuke. Tenten likes Neji and I don't think Hinata likes me to much."

Iruka looked surprised yet in some small way expected something like this. He knew he should have prepared for this ocassion earlier. "Come on Naruto there has to be atleast one Konoichi that you get along with, what about that girl from sand?"

Naruto was completely clueless about who he was talking about until his mind linked sand with Gaara. He remember Gaara and his team. Yeah one of them Had been female, his sister actually. "You mean Gaara's sister. . .Temari?"

"Yeah that's the one."

"Okay, one she's Dating Shikamaru and two I said none of them are intrested in me I didn't say we didn't get along."

Iruka nodded understanding, although it was qiuet shocking to here that the Famous lazy ninja would get involved with something as troublesome as dating. "Well Why don't you think Hinata likes you?"

Naruto sighed as he shoved the empty ramen bowel aside. "Well she never really talks to me, she never looks at me while talking, sometimes I think she advoids me on purpose. Like the one time I was walking threw the training grounds I saw her practicing her taijutsu she took one look at me and hid behind one of the stumps. I don't think she knew that I saw her cause the closer I got the more she hid."

Iruka carfully listened to Naruto tell the events of the almost encounters with the girl. And the more he heard the more he was certain of who the secret admirer was.

"Then this one time I saw her hiding behind the tree, she just sitting there watching me. Well it was starting to freak me out so I turned to say something to her, but then she took off running, so I went back to my training then on my way back I tripped over this rock which wasn't there before and smashed my face into a stump which had exploding tags on it and I ended up in the hospital, and that old bat wouldn't let me leave."

Iruka held back from stabbing out Naruto's eyes with his chopsticks. The boy was really dense, I mean if he saw this girl this many time you would think He would have put two and two together and figure out she was practically stalking him, just in a less violent and more quieter way. unlike the sasuke fanclub. They could get scary at times.

"Well She was in my room that much I know from one of the nurses. She left a few flowers in a vase and a small get well card. And you know I wasn't at all suspiscious about it you know there flowers!! But when I went to touch it these bees came out and stung me! And not just one or two it had to of been like a whole hive over them. And some how I all of a sudden devoloped an allergy to bee's. I mean come on!! Doesn't it seem a little weird that everytime I see here something bad happens? I think she's out to get me."

Iruka chuckled at the boy's obliviousness and exaggeration. If only Naruto would grow up mentally and not just physically. "Naruto, I'm sure she didn't mean for thos thing to happen. They where probably just coincidence or some bad luck. I'm sure she ment well. She doesn't seem like the type to plan your demise in the cellars of the Hyuuga house."

Naruto looked at Iruka like he was crazy. "Are you serious? Haven't you ever heard that saying you know about it always being the quiet kid?"

"Haven't you ever heard of getting to know people before making such harsh comment? You should know that better then anyone, Naruto."

"But she's so weird and her face turns red at almost everything!All you have to do is say 'hello' and she turns in to a tamatoe and then she starts stuttering" Naurto exclaimed once again banging his head on the table earning him a pointed glare from the shops owner.

"Now Naruto That's not very nice besides, She's an extremely timid girl, She just feels a little. . .shy around people. I bet if you get to know her, you'll make a new friend!"

Naruto looked a little skeptical about the idea and hesitantly nodded after a good ten minutes of thinking. "Fine I'll go Find her and talk to her." He said getting up and grabbing his bag. " See you later Sensei!!!" He shouted before quickly running out the door ignoring the shouts of the owner.

Iruka stood there smiling. . .until he realized Naruto didn't pay for his meal.

Naruto grinned as he ran threw streets, making sure his former sensei wasn't chasing after him. 'for a teacher Iruka's pretty slow.' he thought slowing down to a walk.

Naruto walked around for a while before he reached road which had three different turns. On went towards his house, another to his house and the last went towards the school and park.

He decided that since it was a nice day outside and since there was nothing else to do at home he chose the school and park. He hadn't been there in a while anyway.

He started walking passing the school he stood there for a few minutes remembering his times at the academy. All the pranks he pulls all the lectures he went threw and all the other bratty things he did as a kid. He laughed at the memories and continued walking till he reached the park.

Once there he suddenly stopped.

There sitting a few feet ahead of him was Hinata. She wasn't doing anything more then just that, sitting. Almost like she was waiting for some one. She slowly turned her head towards Naruto.

Then time seemed to freeze, like in those horror movies when one was so caught up in fear they just sat there and watched the monster creep closer, just sitting there waiting for there unavoidable demise. Like when you here a doorknob jingling when your doing something bad, and you know whoever's on the other side his going to punish you and give you a long boring lecture, and all you can do his fearfully wait for your impending doom.

In naruto's mind the timid girl sitting on the bench acting so shy and quiet, had somehow grown eight feet tall and horns sprouted form her head and she grew fangs that where overly large and went down past her chin.

"N-naruto?"

The blonde shook the image out of his head, hearing the nervous tone in the girl voice. "H-hello Hinata, what are you doing here?"

Hinata looked surprised at the question, then again she always looked surprised when people talked to her. She start stumbling over her words trying to give him an explanation, her face turning even redder when she realized how she was talking and to whom.

'Oh man she's doing the blushing thing again. Why does she always do that. She's creeping me out.' Naruto thought as he watched the girl blush to the point that there was no trace of her natural skin tone. 'But Iruka said to get to know her better before judging. . .I guess it couldn't hurt'

"Hey hinata, are you busy right now?" He asked cutting the girl off of her explination.

The pale eyed girl looked up in surprise. "I-I um well I. . ." The girl gulped nervously before shaking her head furiosly. "N-no I'm n-not"

"Well would you like to go get something to eat or something, I was going to train with Sasuke but he's being a bastard as usual. So I'm kinda bored." He stated grinning, all the while the girl had invented a whole new shade of red.

The girl stood there stunned. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly before she settled on simply nodding.

"Great! Why don't you pick somewhere." Naruto said enthusiastically, watching the girl nod again, turn quickly and start walking. All the while naruto was chanting in his head.

'Please don't poison me, please don't poison me, please don't poison me!'

**Before there are any questions yes it was kinda rushed, and yes there probably are still some grammer and spelling errors even though I I went over it like nine times. so yeah horrible chapter mostly. well Hope your still enjoying the story even though there are mistakes and whatnot.**


	3. Awkward Lunch

**_Chapter three, finally done! that took a while, mostly because i love videogames and there oh so addicting. well nothing much to say so I'll let you read._**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto_**

**_Chapter Three: Awkward Lunch_**

Naruto and Hinata sat at a small round table by the window in a small eating place. It wasn't all that fancy or expensive, but it was mostly quite and had a comfortable atmosphere, which, Hinata thought would come in handy for how awkward there conversation would be. Granted there was even a conversation to be awkward over.

Not only that but it was the only place that served ramen and other foods that she could think of. And with all the knowledge she obtained about the blond threw all her 'observing' the boy was completely in love with ramen. She herself how ever was not. So this place would be the best choice.

Naruto looked around the place. It was a bit. . .cozy. The round tables were made out of some type of dark brown red wood. It wasn't all that noticeable since it was covered by a green table cloth with curtains to match. And the chairs he had to admit were pretty comfortable for something at a restaurant.

Of course no matter how comfortable the place it's self might be he didn't feel all that comfortable around the Hyuga girl. Really why was he so nervous? It's not like she was going to sprout horns like she did in his head right? It was humanly impossible and like Iruka said she was just shy right? It wasn't like she was plotting anything, right?

Naruto gulped and decided to talk to relieve his mind from the paranoid thoughts. "Uh, so Hinata. . .what have you been up to? Didn't you get back from a mission few days ago?"

Hinata peeked out from her menu thanking the stars she had something to hide her now red face behind. The boy looked pretty nervous which was something she had never seen before, and was it just her or did he gulp just now. She smiled to her self from what she thought was the cutest thing she had seen him do. "W-what? I-I didn't hear you. S-sorry."

"Your mission, how did it go?"

Hinata set down her menu feeling her blush going down a bit. "I-it w-was fine. We complete t-the mission s-sooner then we thought we would. The Hokage g-gave us all some time off." she said her head bowed slightly not wanting to look at him in fear of blushing again.

Naruto hearing this got more curious about the mission . "Really, what type of mission was it? Was it dangerous? Were there any fights?!" he asked hyperly getting a little exited talking about missions.

Hinata was a bit surprised and blush at the fact that he was taking an interest in some part of her life. Even if it was about mission. It was a small step up right? "Um well we h-had to escort l-lord Miaki b-back to his village. Th-there was a few encounters, b-but nothing s-serious so it was ok."

"Who's lord Miaki?" Naruto asked aloud although he meant for it to stay in his head.

"He's a l-leader of a new village. He was b-being threatened by some people and asked for our assistance." Hinata explained, keeping it as simple as possible for the blonds sake. As much as she would deny it to others she knew Naruto wasn't the brightest person.

"Oh I see. Good thing there on our side, we have enough enemies as it is. We don't need anymore. Especially with granny tsunade and her debts!"

"N-naruto! Y-you shouldn't talk like that about the Hokage!" Hinata exclaimed trying to sound more stern but some how it made her sound more worried.

Naruto blinked and looked at her shocked expression. He chuckled and gave her a grin. "Heh heh you sound like Shizune. Don't worry, She knows I don't mean anything by it! It's kind of like how I called the last hokage 'old man'.

Hinata looked at him a bit more calm. She guessed it was alright if the hokage didn't mind but she still didn't think it was a good habit. _'I hope he doesn't try something like that if he ever meets father. My parents already don't think he's any good. . .but I have to try!' _she thought determined , however she felt more nervous then anything.

"Hello, I'm Aiko! How May I serve you!!"

Both Naruto and Hinata jumped at the loud voice. The dark haired waitress gave an amused smile and giggled into her hand.

Naruto observed the girl who seemed overly amused by something. She was eyeing the two like she knew something which to him was kinda of impossible since he never seen her before in his life. So why was she smiling? He was confused

Hinata gave off a fake cough and Naruto shook his head noticing that Hinata had already ordered. He quickly order his Ramen giving the women a random flavor and handed over his menu, watching her walk away.

He looked back over to Hinata who suddenly seemed depressed. She was pushing both her forefingers together and muttering inaudibly to herself.

'Weird' the blonde thought. 'One second she's fine then gets depressed after ordering food, did she order the wrong thing.' "Hey, Hinata? You okay? Are you getting sick, Do you want home or something..."

Naruto watched the girl jump up and blush again. "N-no, No!! No! I-I li- Ah! I'm not-! I-mean I-Idon'twanttoleave!" she exclaimed hurriedly, stumbling over Sentences and not making sense.

". . ." Naruto stared at the pale eyed girl blankly.

The pale eyed girl turned crimson. ". . ."

". . ."

". . ."

" Hinata?"

Hinata gulped. "Y-yes?"

"Could you repeat that?"

Hinata sighed and seemed to be relieved. "I, um. I'm fine."

"If you say so." The blond said then looked down at the table cloth seeing a loose thread he decided to pull it off and play with it.

Hinata watched silently as the blonde twirled the peice of material around his finger, tie it in nots then finally getting bored with it threw it on the floor giving it up to turn his attention to the window to watch a bird fly around the buildings and trees. The girl smiled, watching the boy.

"Hey. . .Hinata?"

"Huh! Um. . .what is it Naruto."

Naruto turned back around seeing the girl was willing to talk. "Have you and Neji been getting along any better?"

Hinata was surprised by the question. Naruto Had a history of asking random questions so she really shouldn't have been surprised. She took a small sip from her water and gently placed it down. "Um well, He's b-been training with me for a while. At first he was pretty hostile and I would end up pretty badly hurt. B-but as time went by he got a lot calmer, and I started getting less injuries and h-he started to take training me seriously. A-and now we even have short conversations together and communicate better." Hinata smiled at Naruto. "I think you had a lot to do with that Naruto"

Naruto's eyes widened and he almost yelled but managed to keep his voice down. "Me? How?"

"That time during the exams, when you beat Neji I think you might have opened his eyes, even if it was only just a little. I believed you helped him out a lot. I think he's started seeing people in a new light. And because of that he can see people for who they are and not judge them just by how powerful they are."

"I guess so, But I don't think I could have changed him that much. You must of helped a lot too, how you show him compassion when the others in the main branch didn't, you probably got threw to him." Naruto said not really believing he could change anyone so drasically.

"Even so, I must thank you for clearing his vision, Naruto"

"Your welcome I guess. . ."

Hinata smiled and was about to say something else when there meals were set in front of them. "Here you go! Would you like anything else?"

Hinata looked over at the chipper girl and started feeling upset again since Naruto was looking at her again. "No, were fine." She said a bit quicker then she attended it to be and immediately blushed afterwards. She hadn't meant for that to come out, not like that any way.

The waitress smiled at the girl then at Naruto, bowing and leaving.

Naruto once again watched the woman walk away. What was she up to?!

"Um. . .Naruto?"

Naruto was jerked out of his thoughts and looked at Hinata. Who was fiddling with her fingers blushing again. "Yeah?"

"Well, um. You see it's just that. . .that you were looking at the waitress and. . ."

"Yeah she's really weird!" He state bluntly.

Hinata's looked at him surprised. "Wh-what"

"Yeah she's looking at me like she knows something and she keeps smiling and acting all happy. It's freaky!"

"Oh. Well maybe she...maybe she likes you Naruto." Hinata suggested blushing again.

Naruto gave hinata a confused look before he grinned. "HaHa! Yeah right, I think I could tell if that was the case!"

Hinata looked up from her hands and she suddenly felt nervous. "Re-really? You mean- you could- you could tell?"

"Of Course you'd have to be completely blind to not notice. I mean what kind of idiot can't tell when someone likes them, they'd have to be a real dumb ass or something! " He exclaimed laughing and taking his bowl of ramen and started slurping up his noodles seemingly not chewing while Hinata slowly ate her food.

Hinata smiled at the blonde boy calmly eating her food and silently glancing at him every now and then inwardly laughing at his noodle covered face.

The meal had ended in a comfortable silence, Until the waitress popped up with her blinding smile and giddy luagh. "How was your meal? Would you like to order something else or would you like your check?"

Naruto smiled over at Hinata who blushed lightly. "Is there anything else you wanted, Hinata?"

Hinata looked nervously between the blond and the waitress. She didn't want to be in here with the waitress but she didn't want to leave Naruto. Then Again it was getting pretty late and her father wouldn't like it if she came home past curfew, especially if he knew who she was with. "U-um, I'd like a strawberry milkshake to go, thank you/" Stuttered out blushing deeper then before.

"In that case I want a chocolate milkshake!!" Naruto practically shouted beaming at the thought, liking the idea of the cold treat it was summer after all.

The woman wrote down on her pad. "Alright I'll be right back!" she replied with the same enthusiasm as naruto, walking off with an extra bounce in her step.

Naruto turned his attention back to his new friend. "Yeah, Icecream! You're a genius Hinata!" He declared excitedly not being able to stand still now that he knew there was something sweet on its way.

"Oh! Um. . .It's just a warm day so I just thought. . ." She trailed off as Naruto's attenion way caught by the lady returning with the desserts. "Here you go to shakes and the bill!" she said with a tone that had to of been practiced cause right then in there she sounded extremely happy, before walking away

Hinata quickly placed the money one the counter wanting to hurry out of the building. "Uh hinata are you su-"

"I-it's fine Naruto, Really!" She said happily yet hurriedly and quickly walked to the door.

Naruto followed after the girl, wondering why she was walking so fast. They both made it out the door and were walking silently down the streets of konoha.

The silence made Naruto fidgety and he was holding his shake rather tightly and tapping his fingers against the Styrofoam cup. He looked over at the small girl who was sipping at her sugar filled treat, that never ending blush on her face. She looked like she was thinking and Naruto could only guess what about.

They both rounded the corner. Naruto noticed Kiba but didn't take any interest until the said boy had accidently bumped into Hinata knocking her down.

"Huh? Hinata?" Kiba asked looking pretty confused.

Naruto glared at the dog lover, helping Hinata up. "You knocked her over you could at least help her up!"

Kiba looked over at Naruto and back at hinata, repeating this pattern atleast five times. "What are you two doing together?" He asked suspiscously, watching Hinata's face go red, he smirked. "You wouldn't be on a _date, _now would you?" he teased.

Naruto snorted, "Yeah right like that would happen." he said quietly turning his face to the side.

Kiba noticed Hinata's expression change from embarrassed to hurt and he glared at the blond. "Why not?"

Naruto ignored the other completely. "C'mon Hinata it's getting late." He said grabbing Hinata's Hand and dragging her away. He didn't need to explain to that flea infested jerk. His thoughts didn't need to be shared with the world.

"N-Naruto?"

Naruto stopped and turned questioningly to the timid voice.

"Your hurting my hand." He looked down at there hands and like the girl said he was squeezing hers a little too hard.

Naruto quickly let go. "Sorry Hinata" he said calmly, glaring at Kiba who was giving him a 'im better then you' look.

"Um Naruto, don't mind kiba he's just a little. . ."

"Don't worry about it, c'mon I'll walk you home" Naruto said once again taking the girls hand, this time more gently and pulling her away from the Inuzuka.

After making sure he was far enough away from the other boy, Naruto let go of Hinata's hand and gave her a small smile which she returned with a light blush.

He looked at the girl longer and took noticed that her blush had died down to just a light pink and thanked whatever god was real that her face was starting to lose it's fierce red color. He also took notice that she wasn't as fidgety as she was earlier. She seemed more clam and sure of her self, and for some reason naruto found himself looking away, his cheeks feeling a little warm.

They walked in a comfortable silence all the way to the gate of the Hyuuga property. Naruto had almost missed the fact that Hinata had stopped.

Hinata bowed gratefully as she looked at the blond happily. "Thank you for inviting me, Naruto. . ." she mumbled her face flaring up again much to the boy's horror before she quickly added. ". . .I enjoyed your company!" She finished bowing again this time trying to hide her blush.

Naruto was caught off guard by the comment and found himself feeling warm again and this time he just knew his face had to be the same color as the girl in front of him. He gave a nervous laughed and scratched the back of his neck. "N-no, really I should thank you! You paid after all!" He replied giving the girl his famous grin.

Hinata looked like she was going to comment but instead closed her mouth quietly and smiled.

Naruto let his grin fade into a small smile and for once couldn't think of anything to say. He could't help it he suddenly felt. . .awkward.

"W-well I'd better go inside before it gets to late. I'll see you soon Naruto." She said before turning around and running up to her porch.

She shyly turned back once to wave good-bye, the blonde waved back watching as her father came into view and looked at his daughter curiously. The two started talking. Naruto couldn't hear what was being said but he seen her smiling and talking happily before the door closed.

The smiled a lazy smile before turning and heading home. So maybe the girl wasn't out to get him after all. And no she didn't turn into a monster with horns and evil smile. And Maybe she wasn't all that weird, But she was still weird...just not as weird.

**_All finished...Can you tell it's rushed? I was trying not to rush but then I would screw up and have to write certain things over again sometimes I would have to retype the same thing twice just because it was so messed up, not to mention trying to keep them incharacter is hard...well for me anyway. but eh what can I do, right?_**

**_Well Hope you liked this chapter even with all of it's horribleness._**


	4. Moonlit Walk Pt 1: Worry

First off I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed so far, I'm happy with all of them so far and I'm actually quiet surprised I got any at all.

And about Naruto's personality, I was pretty sure it was off, I know he's hyper almost 24/7 and in the time skip he's matured slightly but yeah I thought I was off. Then again I think the only one who can actually capture a characters personality is the one who created them in the first place. So yeah. . .

Anyway this chapter actually is going to end up being three parts, I personally only thought it would be one because of the outline I hade for it but then I kind of went a little over board and it ended up being to long. . .well in my opinion anyway. So yeah here's part one of chapter four. And to let you know before hand, Yes I suck at writing out fighting scenes.

Step 4 - Moonlight walk Part 1: Worry

"Naruto!"

As soon as his name was called he found himself flying across the room and crashing through a wall. Once again he had done something to upset the temperamental Hokage.

"N-naruto! Are you ok?"

Naruto looked up a little dizzy from impact. His vision was blurry so the purple hair and fuzzy face did nothing to help recognize the person. The voice however, that voice he knew, the shy tone and small surprised stutter. "Hinata?"

"Yes, Naruto. Are you ok?" She asked worried.

Naruto ignored the sharp pain and jumped up quickly. "Heh heh! Of course I'm fine! That punch was nothing, granny must be losing her touch!" He exclaimed loudly, laughing.

"Tch! This 'granny' can hear you, you tardy brat!" Tsunade growled out taping her nails against her desk agitatedly.

Naruto stiffened and looked over at the current Hokage and gulped. He knew he shouldn't have stayed up that late but it wasn't his fault Kiba decided to turn off his alarm while he was sleeping. How exactly did he know it was Kiba? The muddy dog prints said it all.

"Just get over here. You have a new mission." Tsunade sighed in defeat as she watched the blonde glare at the brunette who was sitting across the room playing with the canine known as Akamaru.

"Alright! Finally! You haven't given me a new mission in months, you old hag!"

For the second time in five minutes the blond found him self crashing through a wall.

Maybe he really should start thinking twice before opening his mouth.

-----------------

The breeze was gentle and calm, and felt nice against the group as they trekked through the forest as they neared the dessert.

It was a simple mission really. Take the scroll to the Kazekage, Wait till he or one of his people hand it back and return to the village. It wasn't anything important it was just a paper that needed signed, something about renewing the treaty.

Everyone that was needed for this mission? Well Shino, Kiba, Hinata, Sakura and Naruto himself. Why did they need so many ninja? Well apparently, there were rumors of a group of rogue ninja who were attacking fellow ninja and robbing them.

It was quite chilly out when they first started, but the closer to the sand village they got, the hotter it was getting. Naruto and Kiba had long sense disposed of their coats and were contemplating on taking off their pant's and walking the Sand village in their boxers, of course neither one of them thought this out loud.

Hinata and Sakura being most sensible, Had already planned ahead. Hinata was wearing a pair of shorts that went just above her knees, and Sakura with her shorts that went to about mid thigh. Both wearing lighter colored clothes avoiding black all together so they wouldn't attract the sun light.

Shino however dressed the same as always, a big coat, pants and signature sunglasses. Everyone could see the sweat dripping from his scalp only to be hidden by the collar of his coat. Not even once did he complain.

Naruto on the other hand . . .

"Oh man it's so hot!" He exclaimed wiping the sweat of his head and dramatically falling on the ground face first

Sakura sighed in annoyance. "Well you should have thought ahead. You knew we were coming to the desert did it ever cross your mind to bring shorts?"

"I was in to much of a hurry, besides who could think with you screaming in their ear like a banshee?" He mumbled with his face in the dirt.

Sakura swiftly turned around and took a foot slamming it down on his back. "What did you just say?!" She yelled, grinding her foot into his back painfully

"Sakura! You're hurting my back." He whined out. Seriously what kind of medic hurt there own teammates? Naruto thought about it before flashbacks of Tsunade constantly wailing on Jiraiya made themselves known and Naruto resisted an urge to cry. Why did he have to be friends with such violent people?

"It's not MY fault you don't think ahead of time. I swear you still act like your twelve!" she continued ignoring his pain filled whining. However she did remove her foot much to his relief, before kicking him, sending him hurling a few feet away.

"Don't know when to keep your mouth shut, do you Uzumaki?" Kiba said chuckling Akamaru barking in agreement. Hinata hovered over Naruto timidly asking if he was all right while Shino and Sakura walked ahead.

"Shut it, dog breath!"

"What was that?!" Kiba yelled getting ready to tackle the blonde.

"K-Kiba, Please! He's already hurt . . . " Hinata pleaded grabbing onto the angry boy's arm gently trying to calm him down.

The boy let out a growl of annoyance, "Obviously it's not too bad if he can still talk." He stated stomping off to join the others.

------

After the quarrel between the group they had continued on their way to the Sand. It judging from the sun, it was probably around noon. Naruto had lessened his complaining but had yet to stop completely. Hinata and Shino had taken positions if front of the group while, Kiba walking behind the others Akamaru trailing behind Kiba panting heavily due to his lack of sweat glands.

They were officially in the desert. The green scenery long ago abandoned them and now there was nothing but sand, rocks and the sun which just kept making the temperature rise.

Naruto looked up at the sun squinting from the light. He gave the giant star one quick glare before turning his head back to face front. He chanced a look over at Hinata.

It had been two weeks, since the whole lunch . . . dinner thing. He didn't think about Hinata that much after that day but it was a lot more often then what he was used to. When he would think about that day, He would feel happy and would start grinning. He never noticed he was smiling until Sakura decided to bring it to his attention in an oh so polite manner, when she asked. 'What the hell are you grinning at?'.

Even then Naruto just smiled and told her 'nothing' and shouted out hyperly that he wanted Ramen. He ordered the same kind as he did _that_ day, then he ordered five more bowls and ended up broke for the next few days.

Naruto sighed looking at the ground only to look over his shoulder at Akamaru who was growling.

The whole group stopped and turned toward them getting into a battle stance at seeing the dog baring his fangs and Kiba in getting ready for a fight. There was no doubt that there was something wrong

"Hinata."

Hinata nodded at Shino activating her Byakugan. The group waited anxiously. "There are three people up ahead two are hiding behind rock formations the last one is under ground."

"Right so what's the plan." Kiba asked looking over at Shino who like always was the leader of the mission. 'Stupid bug using bastard . . . '

"Hinata will keep an eye on them with Byakugan. Sakura and I will lure them out and you and Naruto will come in right after they show them selves."

"Right." They all shouted in unison, Breaking apart Hinata, Sakura and Shino running ahead while Kiba and Naruto trailed behind at a slower pace.

Sooner then they cared for, they were in front of the enemy and dodging all sorts of weapons from the two who were hidden. Sakura destroyed the rocks they hid themselves behind with a chakra induced punch while Shino used his bugs to slowly draw out the ninja who had hidden under ground.

Naruto and Kiba sped up, not hesitating to get in on the action. Both making an explosive entry, Kiba with his canine instincts and Naruto with is rash personality.

After a few physical attacks here and there coming from both sides, one of the enemy down for the count while the other two came out of hiding.

"What do you three want?" Kiba demanded getting ready to attack again.

"Like were going to tell you that . . . " The female said grabbing something from her pocket and throwing them on the ground. The other smirked followed suit and threw his own on the ground. Thick black smoke filled the area making the group blind to the enemy. "You'll be dead soon after all."

"Not likely, bitch" Naruto growled out trying to see through the smoke like the others. He wasn't sure but he was positive only Hinata could see right now. "Hey Hi-"

"They've split up!" Hinata cut him off exclaiming trying to be as loud as possible so the whole group could hear. It was hard for her to see their bodies but she could se their chakra tunnels just fine.

Once the smoke cleared a few seconds later, Shino gave the orders to split up as well. "Kiba I want you to go with Naruto and Sakura. Hinata and I will go after the other."

Both Hinata and Kiba gave their leader a surprised look. "Are you sure about that?" Kiba asked questioningly.

"Positive." The bug user replied turning sharply to walk away, but noticed Hinata not following him. "Hinata."

The mentioned girl stood there looking between Shino and the rest of the group nervously. "Um . . . Shino, it's just that . . . that well do you think that it's all right to do that? Sending Kiba off, I mean."

Shino didn't say anything but gave the girl an affirmative nod.

Hinata hid her nervousness this time and bowed giving the three a 'good luck.' Before following after him.

"Man you better know what your doing!" Kiba yelled after Shino warningly. Although he knew his threat wasn't going to be taken seriously. "What?' He asked as he turned back around seeing the other two staring at him.

"You got a problem being teamed up with us or something." Naruto asked offended.

"No it's just that Hinata . . . She just started training seriously. Well actually she's always taken it serious but she just recently started to . . . get into it more. She's been working with her technique and everything. She asked us to help her and we have been, we've been training with her just like you would with any other Shinobi but I don't know if she's ready to . . . " Kiba trailed off, trying to think about whether or not Hinata was ready to fight on her own. Yes Shino was there but knowing him he'd most likely stand back and observe and only step in when he needed to and if that happened and Kiba wasn't there then Shino could get into a very sticky situation. That could put Hinata into danger.

Naruto brought his hand down onto Kiba back in a rough slap, making the other give a half-hearted glare. "Nah. You worry too much. Hinata will be fine! She has been training after all put some faith in her dog breath. Besides Shino wouldn't let anything happen to one of his team. Right?"

Kiba nodded hesitantly, "Yeah I guess so."

That made Naruto a little uneasy. He looked back idly in the direction that Hinata had went with Shino. The Aburame wouldn't let anything happen to the girl right, Kiba had to be overreacting right? The blond's thoughts kept trailing to the girl's safety even when he turned around to see Kiba had Akamaru sniff out the enemy.

The Other male gave them a signal to follow Akamaru and they all started running toward what was hopefully the man himself and not a diversion.

Naruto gave one last glance back before forcefully redirecting his train of thought back to his mission.


	5. Moonlit Walk Pt 2: Friendly Advice

_**Finally I got this chapter done. . .It was being very difficult and un cooperative. well at least it got done I guess.**_

_**The Akamaru thing. No actually no I didn't know, mostly due to the fact that I haven't seen his appearance in the anime yet...actually i don't thing he made one yet. then theres the very sad fact that I don't read the Naruto manga. So no I really had no Idea. **_

_**Now as Ann Camp aka Obi-queit, as pointed out twice, I have bad grammer. Heh heh Yeah I've always had grammer issues, And I would be a very happy girl if I had a someone to proof read, however I would have no Idea were to find someone for that. So this time I even pulled out an old text book from my school to try and fix the grammer. . .Let's just say I only under stood bit's and peices of it. . . But I really do Appreciate you trying to help with my grammer! **_

_**Well even with my horrible Grammer, Hope you enjoy.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto.**_

**Step 4 - Moonlit Walk Part 2: Friendly Advice!**

The desert was silent and the only thing that could be heard was the heavy breathing of the three Ninja hiding behind a sand dune.

"Holy crap that chick is strong." Kiba commented out loud angrily clutching his forearm trying to stop the bleeding.

Sakura glared at him. "She's not that strong. You just ran in without thinking!"

"Well she was just standing there so-"

"You didn't think she might have planned something! Did you grow more stupid over the years or what?!" She yelled wanting to whack him over the head but not able to because over the blond who was in the middle.

"Hey not all of us are bookworms!" Kiba yelled back in a failed attempt at self defense.

Sakura growled to her self, chancing to take a peek over the sandy hill.

The woman was standing there waiting patiently for them to make their move, a smirk plastered on her face. Sakura had to duck down quickly as the older woman threw a shuriken at her. "We need a distraction. She's too patient to rush in on her own. I don't think she'll fall for a clone either . . . "

"What if one of us goes out then the other two jump in while she's focused on one. It's simple and there's only one of her so it should work." The brunette suggested leaning his head against the sand behind him.

"Good Idea. Sakura you go." Naruto said quickly looking over at his friend.

"What?! Why the hell should I go? Why not Kiba he's a dog he should be used to running around."

Kiba tuned a death glare on the girl. "I'm not a dog you stuck up little bi-"

"You finish that and your dead dog breath!" Sakura snapped using Naruto's insult from before

Naruto shook his head. "Sakura you've trained with granny Tsunade you're the best one at dodging out of the three of us! That's why you should go."

Sakura sighed and looked Naruto in the eyes. "Fine, but you owe me lunch when we get back home." Sakura didn't give Naruto enough time to refuse before she jumped up and out onto the field, dodging the attacks.

Hinata stood hunched over her hand on her knees as she breathed heavily from exhaustion. The enemy was defeated but Hinata had overdone it wanting to fight by herself.

Shino had stood to the side waiting in vain for the young girl to come to her senses and let him help. Apparently he had misjudged the girl. He thought for sure she would have needed help but apparently Hinata had grown even more strong then he realized. Somewhere in his mind he knew she did it for Naruto, she was always trying to improve her self even if it was to only gain the slightest amount of praise. Usually when the blonde saw her fight he would cheer her on and shout out in a hyper voice 'Way to go Hinata!' and that one shout of praise was enough of an award for the girls efforts. At least to her it was.

Hinata walked back over to her teammate smiling wiping the trail of blood off her cheek, wincing when her hand grazed over the cut.

Neither one said anything as they checked the enemy for anything suspicious. They took whatever scrolls they found along with a few weapons, just incase then started walking off going back the way they came.

"Shino . . . do you think the others are doing okay?" Hinata asked looking down to the ground her bruised hands coming together in another session due to her shy nature.

Shino kept his hands in his pockets not even bothering to look over and try to read her movements. "Why wouldn't they be?"

Hinata lifted her head and smiled. "Your right Naruto will be fine." She piped up happily her voice holding a vast amount of faith.

This time Shino did look over at the girl, eyebrow raised. "I thought you were worried about 'the others.'" He said slowly watching as Hinata's face light up a bright red and stammered trying to find the right thing to say.

"So do you ever plan on telling him?" the male asked turning back to the dry scenery. "You've been harboring feelings for him since the academy. You don't tell him soon he might find someone else. It's not like you're the only girl that'll fall for him, there will be others and if you don't speak up soon you'll never get a chance."

Hinata listened to Shino. She knew it sounded a little harsh but he was just looking out for her, and to him that meant telling the truth no matter how hurtful it would be. "Well ever since we had lunch he never really talked to me after then, but . . . "

Hinata trailed off as she remembered the smile he gave her as she ran up to her house. She felt a fluttering sensation in her chest and she smiled the rest of the night. Even when her father argued about her love for the blond.

"It's been three weeks."

"I know . . . but I think . . . I think that maybe . . . "

Shino inwardly sighed as the girl trailed off again and kept walking, Hinata following right behind him a small smile on her face.

-----------------------------

"Cha! Beat that!"

Naruto and Kiba looked at Sakura blankly staring as they watched her cheer in victory. They looked down at the bloody woman who was knocked out cold. Apparently they had over estimated her hand to hand combat skills. It seemed the girl worked her chakra the same as Sakura did but wasn't any match at dodging.

The enemy used smoke bombs and projectiles as distractions and then would throw a few punches while the opponent was distracted and then retreat quickly. And come to find out the girl wasn't all that good at defense and it took Sakura literary one minute to take out the enemy.

Kiba leaned closer to Naruto so that the raging female couldn't hear him. "Is she always like this violent?"

"No, usually she keeps her violence up to her inner self." Naruto responded watching as his teammate walk over to them leaving Kiba to wonder if the pink haired girl had a mental disorder of some kind.

"Well that's take's care of her. We should head back to Shino and Hinata." The girl stated cheerfully wiping some of the dirt off her shorts.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah they're probably finished too." He said while thinking about wether or not they were ok. He was sure they would be. Naruto thought back to when he had seen Hinata fight remembering every match she was in. Then there was that mission they had went on to find that bug she fought those people by herself. The blond looked forward into the desert, shaking his head. Of course she was fine, she was strong willed and besides she had Shino with her. He wouldn't let anything happen . . . right?

"Naruto! Come on were not waiting on you forever!" Sakura yelled waving at him to hurry up.

"Oh sorry you guys I was just-"

"Spacing out like a moron?" Kiba cut him off smirking.

"I wasn't spacing, I was thinking! There's a difference!" Naruto shouted at the smug man.

Sakura gave a Naruto a shocked look. "Sense when did you start thinking?" She asked, giggling when the blond scowled. "Naruto what where you thinking about anyway?"

Naruto paused in his grumbling and looked back up at Sakura. "Well I was just wandering if Hinata was ok . . . I know Shino's there but what if he's not strong enough to protect her and they get . . . in. . . . to . . . trouble. What?" Naruto trailed off as he watched Sakura's small smile brake out into a huge grin and Kiba started smirking. "W-what?"

Sakura kept grinning, remembering every time the boy started spacing out him knew he had to be thinking about something happy. He was smiling quite frequently and " . . . Naruto?" Sakura asked

"Yeah?"

"You've been going around grinning like an idiot for the pasted two weeks wouldn't have anything to do with Hinata, would it?" She asked slyly watching the boy's face turn slightly red.

Naruto gulped, he knew he was blushing, he just didn't know why. "Why would she have anything to do with me grinning?"

"You know Sakura." Kiba started facing the girl with a teasing smirk. "I just so happen to bump into Hinata and Naruto two weeks ago, they were walking together, Naruto walked her home."

Sakura resisted and urge to giggle. "Aw! I didn't know you could be so sweet Naruto!" She exclaimed clapping her hands together in a happy gesture.

Naruto's face had increased in color and was nearly close to rivaling Hinata's own blush. "It was late! I just wanted to make sure she got home ok!"

"Naruto your blushing . . . " Sakura stated in a sing song voice, poking one of his cheeks with her finger.

Naruto swatted her hand away scowling. "You would be to if you were being made fun of!" He shouted getting ready to stomp off.

Kiba grabbed his shoulder holding him in place and smirked. "Face it you like her!"

Naruto nearly fell over from the accusation. He turned around facing the brunette. "What kind of crazy idea is that?!" He asked offended.

"Naruto think about it. You've been thinking about her frequently not to mention you worried about her even though you have faith in her. Just think." Sakura said calmly all hints of teasing gone.

Naruto looked at her and Kiba. Did he really like her? He thought back on that night they had dinner. He remembered the way she blushed when she said he had enjoyed his company the sensation in his chest after she told him. The way he got tongue tied and couldn't think of anything to say. How for the past two weeks' he kept remembering her adorable smiles and blushes, her timid nervous stutters when they first started talking that day all the way down to the cute gestures, she made with her hands.

Naruto felt himself grinning again. "I. . .I. . ." once again the boy was lost for words. He was really confused, when did he start liking her, he thought he liked Sakura . . . well that was a couple years ago, but he never really talked to Hinata before that day. How does one start liking some one anyway? "I'm confused!"

Sakura gently laughed at the blondes out burst. "That usually does happen, Naruto."

"Yeah not everything in life is as simple as you."Kiba remarked hoping to get the blond focused on something else so he didn't have a mental brake down.

Naruto shook his head. " It doesn't matter! She wouldn't go out with me anyway."

As soon as the words left his mouth Naruto felt a huge pain in the back of his head. Clutching his head. He looked up and into the fiery eyes of Sakura. "You're a Complete Idiot Naruto!" She yelled whacking him again, this time he ended up on the ground in the fetal position . . . that's what you did when bears attack right? Well except at that moment Sakura looked more like something you would see in one of those scary monster movie.

"That girl's been into you since we were twelve! What are you Blind!"Sakura yelled again hitting him one last time for good measure.

Naruto looked up at Sakura in surprise. "What? You mean ever since Iruka's classes?"

Sakura gave an Irritated groan. "I can't believe I'm friends with you. Naruto she likes you a lot and, she's shown it on more then one occasion. I mean she follows you around a lot, not to mention she always brings you flowers when you're in the hospital, she blushes like a mad man when you're around her."

"And she passed out once when you got too close." Kiba added smirking again watching as Naruto gave him a confused glance. "The time in the hospital before we all went on that mission, when you were hanging on the ceiling . . . "

Naruto's face lit up. " Oh yeah I remember, I was trying to see if she had a fever and then she just . . . fell. I thought she was sick."

Kiba stood to the side with a blank stare. _'Is he really that oblivious?'_ He looked down to Akamaru who was whining, watching the scene of Naruto getting abuse by Sakura.

"Naruto you should ask her out, you know on an official date! After we deliver the scroll in Sand you can take her to one of the places there, it'll be different and probably a bit more exiting going some place new rather then the same old things back home!" Sakura said excitedly practically bouncing in her spot.

Naruto gulped nervously. "Are you two sure about this? How do you ask somebody out anyway?! What if she doesn't really like me? You guys could be wrong."

Sakura once again glared at the boy, pulling him up by the front of his shirt. "Naruto, If you and Hinata haven't gone on a date by the time we get back home, not even lady Tsunade will be able to heal you!" She said viscously letting go of him, and adjusting her gloves threateningly.

Naruto Nodded eagerly. Why did he have to get placed on the team with the psycho, right now he'd even take shino over the scary woman in front of him.

Sakura smiled innocently at his nod. "Good now let's go find Shino and Hinata." She said spinning around and started walking. Kiba followed her quickly a bit spiffed that the blond had chosen to hide behind him until he was positive that the Pink haired banshee as he liked to call her was cooled off.

_

* * *

__**Bad place to end I know but I drew a seriously big blank on this ending.It origanally stopped with naruto stating he was confused but I thought it was too short to end there...well it's still short actually.**_

_**eh eather way I will be trying to get the next chapter up at least by the weekend, I guess it depeneds though really, things got pretty hectic around here yesterday and theres a bunch of drama going on so, blah. But I'll get started on it soon. Promise! It should be up by tuesday next week at the most so yeah. . .**_


	6. Moonlit Walk Pt 3: Holding hands

_So tell me did this take too long? Hope not, I've been completely drawing blanks lately, probably too exited about the holidays coming up. so Yeah I don't know if this took to long to be posted. well I've got nothing to say. Probably bores you guys anyways... so _

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**_

**Step 4- Moonlit Walk Part 3: Holding hands**

It had only taken them few minutes to find each other with plenty of help from Akamaru's nose and Hinata's byakugan.

Sakura and Kiba had watched on the side lines as Naruto congratulated Hinata on her victory, a small blush making itself known on his own face. The shy girl rambled on trying to be modest while she twisted her hands together and blushed as well.

Shino looked over at Kiba who caught the look slung an arm around the Aburame, grinning in amusement. "The world's officially coming to an end, Armageddon is here Shino" He laughed out making the other boy give him a questioning from underneath his glasses. This caused Kiba to laugh even more. "I'll explain later."

----------------

The sun had disappeared and the group rejoiced for about an hour before it got a little too chilly out. This time it was Naruto Kiba and Shino who were thankful that they had not chosen to were cooler clothes.

Desert day's were scorching. They all knew that but, The nights?

"It's freezing out here." Sakura said hugging herself as she shivered.

"Um Shino, Maybe we should . . . set up camp. It's getting . . . it's getting really could and it's only going to get colder." Hinata suggested hugging herself, shivering as well.

Shino stopped at hearing his teammates request and looked back at everyone, seeing them either worn out or freezing death, The bug user nodded. There wasn't any point in moving if his team was going to pass out.

Everyone set up their things and settled down in their tents, Sakura and Hinata taking one tent, Kiba, Shino and Naruto taking the second.

"Good night Hinata!" Naruto shouted loudly before laying his head on his pillow.

"Naruto! Were not miles away you know, she can hear you just fine with your normal voice!" Sakura scolded the blonde from inside her and Hinata's tent.

"Good night, Naruto." Hinata added shyly before she laid down as well pulling the blanket up to her chin.

Kiba smirked at Shino who finally caught onto Kiba's earlier statement about An Armageddon. "I see"

Kiba grinned and turned to Naruto who was laying there still awake. "What? No 'good night Kiba or Shino'?" He teased as he plopped down onto his pillow.

"I never tell Sakura good night. She yells at me."

Shino turned his back to the other two, pulled off his glasses and laid down. "I can see why." He said more to himself then the other and Naruto glared at the back of his head.

Huffing the blonde turned over on his side and forced himself to ignore both Kiba and Shino as he attempted to fall asleep.

-------

Hinata looked over at the other female who slept soundly threw all the noise coming from the other tent, which mainly consisted of Naruto snoring and talking out random things in his sleep. Hinata rolled on her back and stared at the top of the tent.

She looked over to the other side of her where the boy's tent was. The tent was so close could hear every movement, every snore, she could even hear they're shallow breathing if she listened hard enough. Every time Naruto snored too loud, Kiba would wake up and hit him telling him to shut up.

"Dammit Naruto, you snore like that one more time I'm going to suffocate you!" Kiba hissed trying not to wake anyone else up.

Naruto grumbled, some insult that wasn't heard clearly due to his low half asleep mumbles, before he turned over and, slowly the snoring started up again. However, this time it was more soft and calming then before.

Hinata giggled imagining the scene the brunette boy practically growling at the blonde haired boy who completely ignored him and turned over to get back to his dream.

Smiling tiredly the girl turned over again, this time facing the other tent closing her eyes and falling asleep to the gentle snoring.

---------

It was completely dark when she awoke to the deafening silence. She yawned and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

It was way too quiet.

She looked over at Sakura who was still sound asleep before she looked over at the other side where the other tent was located. All she heard was steady breathing and the rustle of someone's blanket as they turned over. Something was missing.

It took her a few minutes to figure out what it was. The light snoring and sleeping murmurs where missing. Naruto wasn't there. Where would he go, though?

Hinata sat up fully, trying to listen closely to see if maybe she could hear the others foot steps or something that would tell her that he was nearby. Maybe he just had to use the bathroom but nothing ever came. So she waited a while and, still nothing.

Hinata tossed the blankets of her and stood up a little hunched over since the tent wasn't all that tall. She slowly unzipped the front of the tent being sure not to wake up Sakura, before she stepped out silently and snuck past the tents having to shush Akamaru who's head peeked out of the tent to see what was going on.

The girl search the area for the blond boy, and after getting lost four times and two encounters with the desert wild life she found the bond relaxing by an oasis that wasn't too far away from the camp.

The water hole was big and had a few desert plants around it, and a couple wild animals were drinking from it, but they didn't seem to be bothering Naruto in the slightest and in return he wasn't bothering them.

"Naruto?"

Naruto sat up quickly hearing the timid question of his name. He snapped his head toward the girl and gave a nervous grin. "Hey Hinata, I thought everyone was asleep."

Hinata blinked at the boy before shyly making her way over to him. "What are . . . Um that is, Why are you so far away from camp, Naruto?"

Naruto let himself fall back on the sand looking up at the half-formed moon. "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep I guess. " He shrugged and glanced over at the pale eyed girl. "I could ask you the same thing, though, huh?"

Hinata nodded and sat down next to him, blushing. "I well . . . I woke up and well you weren't there. I thought that maybe you went to the bathroom but you didn't come back for a while. So I thought I should come look for you."

Naruto kept looking at the girl. How did she know he was gone in the first place? Did he make that much noise when he left? No she said woke up after he left. "Hinata? How did you know I left?"

Hinata looked surprised at the question and her blush increased till she hit a dangerous shade of red, which made the blond sit up quickly and look at her.

He sat there wondering why she looked embarrassed and could only think of one question to ask. "Were you spying on us?!" He asked a little bit more accusing then he meant to and watched as the girl blanched.

"N-no! I-I wasn't . . . I wouldn't!" she said defensively putting her hand in front of her like it would help. She bit the inside of her lip trying to calm her self down and then returned to blushing dangerously again.

This left the blond really confused and a bit afraid that the girl would pass out from all the blood rushing into her head.

Watching her wring her hands together, he sat there trying to read what the girl was up to. He tried to relax himself, forcing himself to remember the girl was not planning his horrible deranged death. He heard Hinata gulp loudly before speaking.

"Well you see you . . . You snore and well. . .you were snoring pretty softly and I um . . . " The girl paused gulping again and appeared to be getting really fidgety. "Well I fell asleep . . . and when I woke up I couldn't hear it anymore, so. . . . "

Wait what the hell was she talking about? Snoring or Sleeping? 'Holy crap, this is confusing!'

"Um Naruto are you ok?" Hinata asked worriedly, seeing Naruto spacing out.

Naruto nodded his head not wanting to upset the Hyuuga girl any further, mainly because if she blushed any harder she would most definitely pass out. "Yeah I'm fine I was just . . . Um thinking about something Sakura said earlier!"

Hinata brought her knees to her chest placing her arm on top of them and resting her head on her arms. ". . . Oh . . . what did she say?" She asked curiously.

Naruto gave Hinata a grin and chuckled. "Oh nothing really just the usual. 'Naruto, blah blah, or I'll kill you." Naruto laughed, leaving out certain parts of that particular conversation.

Hinata looked away from the blonde and back at the oasis, the animals having left a while ago. She could tell something was on his mind, Just by the way talked. It was off, a little calmer then usual. His laugh was a little forced too.

She heard movement of sandals shifting the sand around and looked of to see Naruto standing with his hand extended out waiting for her to take it. "Come on, Let's go explore!" He exclaimed childishly grabbing her hand and basically yanking Hinata to her feet.

Hinata giggled as the blonde drug her through the desert Pointing at practically everything making some comment about everything he saw.

Soon the girl had found herself standing behind him while he knelt down to poke at whatever unlucky creature had walked in his path. She smiled down looking at the poor thing over Naruto's shoulder, who was pulling at its tail trying to figure out what it was. Then, Naruto suddenly stopped.

He turned his head to look at her, seeing her smile he smiled to and stood up. "Um Hinata?" He started cautiously, pulling turning his head away from her braking the little eye contact they had.

She slightly titled her head, patiently waiting for the blond to finish.

"Well you see. When uh two weeks ago when we had lunch . . . I was thinking about it a lot and . . . " Naruto tried to keep himself from getting too nervous but, how could he not be? He was still doubting what Sakura had told him, after all no one else ever seemed interested in him, So why would a girl of higher status be interested in him. Besides How the hell did you ask questions like these anyway!

". . .Na-?"

"Well I just wanted . . . you to know that I enjoyed your company too!" He said quickly before turning around and giving a forced laugh. Secretly hitting his head against the inner walls of his head. Maybe Kiba was right. Maybe he was simple.

". . .Oh . . . I'm glad." She stated quietly her face lighting up at the somewhat compliment.

He turned back to face her once again. His mouth opened and closed at least seven times before he decided on what to say "We should get back to camp before the others notice where gone, they'll probably flip out or something." He said finally.

Hinata Nodded. "Yes . . . They'd be worried. We've been gone for nearly two hours I think."

Naruto blinked in surprise. Had they really been gone that long, It didn't feel like it. Then again he wasn't really paying attention to time. He was more focused on his surroundings and listening to the laughter of the shy girl. She seemed to be having fun following him around and watching him rant about everything he saw.

Come to think of it she had even seemed worried when she found him, and when they met back up after the attack. She was worried then to even though she was in worse condition. Maybe Sakura and Kiba were right about the girl liking him.

The blond nervously stepped closer to the girl and reached out for the girls hand apprehensively, fearing whatever negative reaction she might have. All the insults he ever had directed at him rushed threw his head and he almost backed down. He had held her hand before and she never said anything so why was it so different now?

Mentally yelling at him self for being a coward he quickly threw his hand out leaving no time to back down and grabbed a hold of her hand. There was a long pause as the blonde waited for the girl to pull her hand away from him and yell at him for it, but nothing ever came. He looked up at the girl slowly.

She was redder then he had ever seen her, she looked completely shocked, but she made no move to take her hand back.

Hinata didn't know what was more confusing, the dramatic hesitation before he grabbed her hand or the determined look on his face when his hand shot out and grabbed onto hers tightly. It made her feel like blushing and she knew for a fact that she was. It felling that she knew all too well, but this time her face felt hotter then it ever had before. She couldn't help but grip onto the blond hand.

Naruto smiled feeling relieved. He wasn't particularly smart in this area, but he was almost positive that her response was a good one. "Come on Hinata, we should get back before the sun comes up!"

"R-Right." was here meek reply as Naruto gently pulled her in a random direction.

"Uh, Hey Hinata?" Naruto asked as he stopped walking, looking around confused. "Which ways camp?" He asked looking down at her giving her a guilty look while using his free hand to scratch his head.

The girl was silent before she giggled and pulled him in the right direction never bothering to pull her hand away from his as they walked back to camp enjoying the landscape as the moon lit up the sandy terrain.

-----------------

Didn't really turn out how I wanted but I guess nothing ever does huh? and yes this was the last part of chapter four Well let me know how I'm doing and I'll be trying to get the next chapter up soon! I have been trying to make the chapters longer but that's really not working for me i guess. It would probably help if i could find that damn paper. . .


	7. The First Date Pt1: Nervous

**_Sorry about the wait! _**

**_hehe my birthday was a few days ago, and a had planned to get it out on my birthday but it didn't really work out that way, I was to busy baking my cake and cooking dinner for my birthday,I had fun but by the time dinner was done it was time to eat and then we all watched a movie and then by then end of the day I was wiped out and couldn't wait for sleep, lol. then the next day my inspiration was gone and i got hooked on Gaiaonline fishing and had to work on it little by little and it still came out shorter then i wanted it to, so yes that was annoying. but any way here's the chapter!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. . .i'm really staring to hate these things_**

**Step 5 - First Date Part One - Nervous.**

The door opened slowly, the creaking sounded so loud in the silent room you could swear you'd go deaf. Flipping on the lights the group to a quick scan on the room, before a certain pink haired female flopped onto the closest bed claiming it as her own.

"Why do you get the bed?!"

"Haven't you ever heard of ladies first?" Sakura asked as she sat up on the bed smiling and complimenting its comfort.

"That's when your going somewhere!" Naruto yelled back, desperately trying to win an already lost argument.

Sakura shook her head negatively. "No, It means that you always put the woman before the man, and in this case that man would be you . . . And your sexy jutsu does not count!" she added quickly when she caught him making hand signs.

Hinata and Shino stood in the middle of the room, Kiba plopped down on the empty bed all three trying to ignore the argument of the other two Shinobi.

They themselves already thought about letting Hinata have the bed. Not because she was a girl mind you. There had been plenty of times where Kiba had dove on the bed and told the other two to use the floor. He and Shino would argue for a few minutes until either Hinata said it was fine or Shino forced the other to give up his hopes of his own comfort for the sake of the timid girls. You know, whichever came first.

This time Hinata got the bed Simply because she had been the only one out of the three that had really fought, and it was an unspoken agreement the most exhausted person got the bed. So there, problem solved.

"SO remind me why you should get the bed?"

"The simple fact that I'm a woman."

"You don't act like one . . . " The blonde stated angrily earning a heated glare from the pink haired girl.

"Care to repeat that?"

Naruto ignored the dare and looked around the room throwing his bag in a random corner. Why should he treat her like a girl? The only thing she had in common with them was her nagging and her looks. Well and that high pitched squealing thing she did when she was around guys but that was it really.

Sighing the blonde looked around the room taking in its not so great appearance.

It had only taken a few tries to find a hotel, especially one that would take in a giant dog. The group opted on getting one room to save money.

Of course they had to make sure there was enough room to fit everybody and Akamaru. The room was fairly spacious with two beds a ceiling fan and a decent sized tv that sat on a three-foot dresser.

The walls were beige and in some area's where the paint was pealing it revealed the previous color of lavender. The carpet was a slightly blueish color and lines from being vacuumed, which was the only proof of the room's cleanliness. The bed sheets were the color of the walls with blue pillows to match the floor and finally there were paintings on the walls for some pathetic attempt of decoration. So no, the room wasn't all that good looking but the beds were extremely comfortable. At least that's what Sakura said, but Naruto himself would never know.

Kiba broke the silence by jumping off the bed landing making the floor creak loudly under his feet. "Man I have to get out of here. The place is giving me a headache. Come on Akamaru."

Sakura looked at the brunette curiously wondering what his rush was. She looked back over at Naruto who was still picking at the paint on the walls and grinned. "Wait up Kiba! I'm coming, too. Come on Shino!" She shouted grabbing the confused boy and yanking him out the door.

Naruto sat there wondering what there hurry was. He could have sworn that at least Kiba would be staying behind to at least take a nap and Sakura usually went over everything to see if they needed anything before they left.

He looked over at Hinata who was sitting on her bed looking at the door questioningly and he realized she was the only one besides him in the room. He stared at the door in horror. His friends had left him there to his doom. His comrades had abandoned him, what was the world coming to. When he became hokage, he would make sure they paid dearly for this. Really, were exactly did Kiba want to go. He hated the sand village. It was hot, dry and very unfriendly for Akamaru, and that alone made Kiba stay in doors when he came here.

Then there was Sakura and Shino. Sakura he could see zooming out the door, she'd probably go shopping or grab a bite to eat. She liked shopping at different villages because each village had it's own style and that interested her. However, they just arrived not even an hour ago, surely she'd be tired right?

The blonde didn't really understand his brain sometimes, one minute Hinata was a great person to be around then she was this scary monster thing and he really didn't understand his nervousness. Why would he be nervous around her she was one of the nicest people in the whole country, it's not like she was going to kill him in some morbidly sadistic fashion and laugh at the pain he endured.

Besides she was more nervous then he was by nature. Which probably meant that she was in the same boat as him even more so if what Sakura said was true. Which reminded him, he was supposed to ask her out.

Great how was he supposed to do that, he never dated anyone before. Sure he asked Sakura out a hundred of times but he was twelve and even more of an idiot then he was now. Back when your younger relationships like these weren't taken all that seriously but as he got older he saw that his friends were staying together longer and if they broke up it would take longer for them to start up again with someone new.

The longest relation ship he ever witnessed was probably Shikamaru and Temari. It was going on four years since they've been together, even if Shikamaru called the whole thing troublesome and not worth it.

Could he really find something like that with Hinata? Did he really even like Hinata that way? Sakura and Kiba thought he did but how could you possible rely on a guy that loud and a girl with the highest gossip record.

Well he'd just have to find out himself, and the only way to do that would be to do what the pink haired girl threatened him to do.

Naruto looked over at the girl who had settled on going threw her bag for something to do. The blond took a deep breath before speaking. "Uh, Hinata?"

Hinata froze at his voice but looked over at him quickly closing her bag.

He felt that familiar nervousness again just like the day he saw her at the park and once again his mind made that small sweet girl into the scariest thing he'd ever seen. He gulped and cursed his mind for over exaggerating.

"What is it, Naruto?"

"I was, um, well I wanted to know if you would . . . " He trailed off feeling very much like a coward. He knew this would be hard but crap this was hard. How did Sakura think he could do this in a span of two days? "I um."

Hinata watched the blond trying to talk. If she didn't know him as well as she did she would have thought he was making fun of her. However that tone gave it away, he was nervous. She for some reason thought it was cute and would have laughed if she didn't know better. She had been laughed at plenty from being shy and talking like that. "Naruto?"

"Would you like to . . . " Naruto mentally killed himself, it shouldn't be this hard, there was nothing to be afraid of, It was just Hinata. Hinata who seemed worried about everyone and offhandedly tried to kill him with exploding tags and bee stings, even if he was still second guessing the accidental part.

Then again she had seemed overly worried about him since the mission started, even back in the hokage's office when he was sent crashing into the wall twice, and when Sakura had punched him and stomped on him. After they split up and rejoined she didn't voice it but he could tell she was worried by how she looked at him, it was the same look Iruka gave him when he ended up in the hospital or just got back from a mission with a few bruises. It was the kind of look that made him feel guilty even though he had done nothing wrong.

Maybe she did like him after all. She had said she enjoyed his company, and truthfully even though it was awkward more then half the time he enjoyed hers as well. So maybe asking her out on a date wouldn't be so bad, his friends didn't think there was any flaw in their assumptions about the girl liking him so maybe they were right when they said he liked her back. So he should just go for it right?

The pale eyed girl watched the boy, as his face went from read to blue. He was thinking and obviously he was harder then what he was used to. It worried her when he did think like that, sometimes if he was thinking to hard it was like he forgot to breathe which explained why his face was blue. "Na-"

"Wouldyougooutwithme!!!"

Hinata jumped back from the loudest outburst she had ever heard. In all the years she had known him she had never heard him yell something so abruptly. Espescially that fast and so loud she couldn't hear him. "S-sorry I didn't catch that?"

"I. . ."

Outside around the corner Kiba was crouched down laughing and holding onto Akamaru for support. "Fuck my s-sides hurt!" was all he managed through his bout of laughter leaving an irritated Haruno and an eye twitching Aburame.

Sakura glared at the obnoxious brunette. "What happened?!" She hissed out completely annoyed by the males behavior only to be answered with more laughter.

The pink haired girl glared for all she was worth and grabbed the boy by the front of his shirt. "If you don't start talking, I'm – ow!" The girl cut herself off with a cry of pain. She looked down at her red hand a small barely noticable line off blood pooling up from where Kiba's claws caught skin.

"Don't touch the clothes, pinky." He snapped wiping the girls 'disease' off the front of his shirt. He looked up at the girl to find her seething and looking anything but calm, "What?"

"Trim your nails once in a while, there jagged!" She shouted wiping the blood off on shorts.

Kiba gave the girl an offended looked and glared back. "There not nails, there claws...and there not jagged!"

Sakura gave a short abrupt laugh. "Whatever you say, Inuzuka!" she said mockingly as she healed the small cut effortlessly.

"What happened." Shino demanded there wasn't even a hint of questioning in the tone. The bickering between the two teammates was starting to grate on the bug users nerves. The two seemed to do nothing but argue ever since the beginning of the mission. Everything from what to have for meals to the reason of sand mysteriously appearing in Kiba's shoe. So this whole trip wasn't a very good one for Shino.

Kiba stopped mid sentence at his friends tone and explained.

"What an Idiot!" Sakura hissed harshly grabbing onto her hair in frustration. "How is it so hard for him to just flat out ask her, He's blunt about everything else and blurts out random shit with confidence? How can he not just ask her on a date?!"

"The truth is always harder to admit." Shino stated monotonously, not really interested in this particular conversation. Wether the village idiot asked her or not wasn't his problem. As long as it didn't interfere with their performance in missions, He couldn't care less.

"Yeah you can't blame the guy for being such a wimp. Besides when was the last time he asked a girl out?" Kiba asked already knowing the answer.

"Good point." Sakura sighed out in defeat.

Naruto took a deep breath to calm him self and gathered up what little control of talking he had before he actually spoke. "I wanted to . . . " He paused and took another breath getting annoyed that this was so difficult for him. "I wanted to know if you wanted . . . Dammit! Would you go out with me?!" he shouted out finally hoping it was slow enough for the girl to hear.

Hinata squeaked at the outburst which seemed loud then the previous one. At least this was slow enough for her to hear, and since she could actually hear what he said her face turned completely red and she could feel herself getting a little dizzy. Even in her lightheadedness she felt her chest swell with a mix of things, happiness, excitement, nervousness, shock and pride. He asked her out why wouldn't she feel like that.

She was so wrapped up in her inner bliss all she could to was give him a timid 'yes' and a smile.

Naruto seen her smile and grinned back. "Great! Let's go!" He said grabbing her hand and running towards the door. Fling it open and running out and down the hall with the girl in tow.

This time Kiba joined the girl in the defeated sigh. The blond obviously didn't know the first thing about dating. Like setting up times and maybe even picking out a place to go before dragging your date out the door.

Shino stood next to them and sigh as well however for a whole different reason. "Are we finished here? I would like to go restock on supplies."

Kiba turned a grim expression to the Aburame. "We're far from over. Remember Shino, it's the end of the world."

Shino raised an eyebrow in question but was only met with a smirk from Kiba and a playful smile from Sakura before they stood up straight and started trailing after the two love birds, gesturing for him so follow.

Shino, although fully reluctant, followed them. On the outside he looked calm and collected, on the inside he was annoyed and, hoped that by an extremely lucky coincidence that the two in front of him would get their feet impaled by concrete thorns that would magically sprout from the ground or at least lose track of their current objective and pay more attention to the villagers looking at them with irritated interest. After all it was highly unorthodox to follow your friends around during such personal matter.

Not that Kiba or Sakura knew the meaning of personal. But one could hope right?

Yes once again It's being seperated into parts, mostly because Naruto's question took longer then I expected even though I really picture him just blunty asking her to be his girlfriend but then again he is easily confused and whatnot. however I think i made him a little too nervous, what do you think? Well I guess it wasn't too bad, i'm still not to sure about the grammar in this chapter, there was so much retyping I started to get cramps in my fingers. Once again sorry it was a little late I'll try getting the next part out soon. . .hopefully.


	8. The First Date Pt2: It's Kind of Cute

**_Uh maybe I should grovle for taking so long huh? I'm really sorry about that, I kind of got really stumped on what to do for this chapter, and I kept drawing blanks and thinking while babysitting five kids doesn't help. I haven't even started on the next chapter yet, sadly, but I do hope that the fact that this chapter is slighlty longer the the last makes up for it's lateness. . .even just a little?_**

**_and about the cursing, Sorry. I actually have a bit of a gutter mouth and it sort of slipped when I was typing, but I promise to try and keep those words out of the story._**

**_anyway... enjoy, and Happy holidays!!_**

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. Do I really have to keep repeating this?**_

**Step 5 - First Date Part two - It's Kind of Cute**

The town was a little congested as the two teens had to push their way threw the crowed while trying to find somewhere to eat.

"How about here, Naruto?"

Naruto turned his head to look at the building Hinata was pointing at. It was a small modest looking place that made a variety of foods. It had a small sign by the door telling the specialties and prices. It looked nice enough it couldn't hurt. "Sure, why not!" He said starting to walk toward it. Hinata smiled and followed him to the building.

They had been walking around the village for about three hours and had been almost everywhere in the village. Stores, hang outs, small vending carts on the side of the road, whatever caught their eye.

They had fun walking around and picking up little gifts or knickknacks' s to take back home with them. They would talk here and there, mostly Naruto ranting about whatever popped up in his head. His short attention span made it hard for Hinata to keep up with the subject but she enjoyed their conversation's none-the-less.

The inside of the food place reminded them of a house, the kitchen was in the back and if you sat in the right area you could see the cooks doing there job and chatting with the other cooks.

It didn't take long for them to be seated at one of the tables that were pushed against the walls and all big enough to fit four people. The couple took a quick look around the place taking in its hard wood floors and off-white walls.

Naruto picked up one of the menus the waiter had left for them and skimmed the content. Just as he thought, no Ramen. Sighing he started rereading the menu trying to find something that sounded like it would at least fit his personal food preference. His date however had already decided on her order and was having a slightly amused moment watching him trying to find something that sounded good.

Hinata watched as Naruto concentrated on reading the menu making faces when he read something that sounded disgusting or grumbling to himself about whatever he had read. Finally after about twenty minutes of thinking and having to repeatedly tell the waiter they weren't ready to order, the blonde finally decide on his order and for that the waiter looked relieved and happily walked back to the kitchen.

The blond heard the girl giggle and looked up at her. Everyone laughed at him at random times and he could usually figure out why, but all he did was order his meal. So what was so funny? He just hoped that he didn't do anything stupid that would somehow offend Hinata or make her uncomfortable.

Well He already had when he dragged her out of the hotel right after she said yes. It took at least an hour for her to start talking normally, the experience was kind of weird, he would say a few things and she would reply with more stuttering then usual and broken sentences but that was hours ago, so what did he do now.

Hinata saw Naruto's confused look. "Um . . . so Naruto . . . " She trailed off watching Naruto tilt his head slightly in curiosity as he leaned forward on the table holding his head in one hand. She then immediately adverted her gaze to the floor feeling herself blush.

Out of all the things her father had taught her over the years about how to start a conversation and how to keep it going she couldn't remember a single thing. All the things her friends did to help her gain more self confidence, it all seemed to vanish. She felt guilty about it, her friends had spent all that time on her and it was all in vain.

She glanced up at him only to look back down at the floor, her blush intensifying at seeing him looking at her curiously. It was times like these that made her thankful her crush and potential love was extremely dense.

She didn't know why it mattered. He must have already noticed something, and he did ask her out after all. Though she would have liked to a bath before they went out. Going on a date smelling like dirt, sweat and blood, wasn't how she imagined their first date.

Then again, this was Naruto. Nothing went as planned.

"Hinata, are you feeling okay?" Naruto said waving a hand in front of her face.

Hinata looked up quickly hearing the blonde talk, her mouth feeling a little drier. "Um . . . Yes?"

Naruto looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure your ok?" he asked again was it him or did she sound like she was questioning herself? Why would she be questioning herself? It's her health shouldn't she know if she was okay or not? And why was she zoning out like that?

"Y-yes, I'm fine. I guess I'm just thinking too much." She said trying to reassure him, remembering the last time she went out to eat with Naruto. Hadn't he asked her that then too? He did seem to ask her that often. Maybe they were right Maybe she did blush too much.

The blond nodded "If you're sure that's all."

---------------

"I can't hear a thing their saying. There's too many people talking in there." Kiba grumbled plopping down underneath a nearby window.

Sakura gave a frustrated sigh and plopped down as well, shifting a bit on the uncomfortable ground. "You better start hearing. Act like it's a mission!"

Kiba dead panned. "It's not my fault people talk at the same time, and if I get any closer one of them will be bound to notice us."

"You're so useless!"

"Excuse me, How am I useless?! Exactly what grand technique do you have for this particular 'mission'? All you know is how to heal and throw some destructive chakra induced punches. Neither of which will help in this situation."

"I have my genjutsu!" she snapped but turned away in a huff.

"Stop trying to sound smart, you know that won't help either!" he shouted getting angry at the girl.

The pink haired girl turned her head toward the boy, her face red in anger. "First off, I don't have to 'try' I am, one of the more intelligent Shinobi in our village. Not to mention our hokage, Tsunade, one of the strongest konoichi in existence who is also one of the legendary Sanin personally taught me! What do you have going for you? A good sense of smell and brute force, not much of a good combination, if you ask me."

Kiba, who for the most part was ignoring the girl and was scratching akamaru's ears. He looked over at her with a loathe filled glare. "A good thing no one has asked you then. Besides the only thing that I noticed about you was how much of a harpy you've grown to be. Now stop screeching in my ear. I'm trying to listen." With that said Kiba turned his back to the girl and moved to the next window. The girls yelling sounded like a dying cat and she was really starting to irritate him with her bossy attitude.

He chanced a look behind him and found a grumbling, seething pink haired harpy and a Shino who looked like he was stuck between wanting to persuade them to cut out the spy act or keep going out of curiosity which he would later deny it as such and would say the either he was merely observing the courtship or that he was making sure that Kiba didn't cause any massive damage, leaving Sakura and Kiba to defend for themselves.

Sakura would probably say she was making sure Naruto didn't screw things up, Kiba would just say he was protecting Hinata and making sure Naruto didn't hurt her, even though he knew full well Naruto wasn't capable of hurting women unless they were the enemy ninja. Sakura was living proof that the blonde wouldn't hurt a girl, as much as she hit him and he never hit her back. Kiba thought it was a miracle the boy could tolerate it.

"Hey, shut up, I can't hear them." He said clamping a hand down over the girl's mouth to silence her, only to cringe in pain as he felt teeth sink into his hand. He gave the girl a disbelieving look. "And you call me a mut?"

The girl lowered herself to the immaturity of sticking out her tongue with a 'hmph' and settled her self on the other side of Shino, away from Kiba.

-------------

"-but the other girl ducked and then she flew right over her. She smashed her nose into the tree, it was swollen for days, and she was so embarrassed about it she wouldn't even look at him for two weeks!"

Hinata laughed softly. Naruto had been telling stories about his teammate and the missions they had been on. The one he was currently laughing about was about Sakura getting mad at some random girl for openly hitting on Sasuke.

"Oh then there was this one time Sasuke had to eat this sugary pastry thing, the faces he made were hilarious, sometimes he would scrunch face up like this," he paused and made a face that would make one think he ate something overly sour. "I had pictures of it, but Sasuke used them for the fire on the way home."

Hinata once again laughed at the story, but couldn't for the life of her picture Sasuke with anything other then his usual calm expression or his angry look before a fight.

Naruto soon stopped laughing and started eating again. "So, How do your missions usually go?"

The girl looked up from her meal as well but shook her head. "Other then Kiba and Shino arguing here and there, our missions go pretty well, nothing special really."

"Well that must be boring, I don't think I would survive if my team wasn't the way they were. I'd die of boredom before we even got out of the village." He stated with a mouth full of food, Swallowing only when he took the time to remember his table manners.

Hinata ignored the lack of etiquette. It didn't matter, his choice of a topic, his lack of manners or his blunt remarks. She was out on a date with Naruto, not just hanging out but a real date. It made her a little scared though since she didn't have time to prepare or anything after he asked her. But it was all right so far, other then the occasional nervous stuttering she was doing ok.

"Hey, Hinata, what do Kiba and Shino argue over? I mean other then who gets to be the leader."

Hinata looked down her plate and pushed her food around with her fork. "Well, they'll argue over almost anything. They'll even argue over which way the opening of the tents should go. It's not that they argue on purpose to fight or anything . . . I think it's just their way of bonding, Kind of like how Sasuke and you fought all the time."

"Bonding? How do bond by fighting? Me and Sasuke were always trying to beat each other into a bloody pulp!"

"I know but that's how you bonded. It's hard to explain. It's like Sakura and Ino. Back in the academy Sakura looked up to Ino, but once she matched up to Ino they couldn't use that to bond anymore and they started fighting to test the other's strength. Same with you and Sasuke." She tried to explain but the look on Naruto's face clearly stated that he wasn't catching on. She sighed and thought for a minute before speaking again.

"You both were trying to understand the other. You wanted to know why he was so cold, and he wanted to know how you could be so happy with who you were. The fact that you couldn't understand each other caused you to fight. Those fights brought you closer together and helped you understand the others way of thinking. Sasuke wants to avenge his clan, but has to kill his own blood and it causes him pain. You lived everyday knowing what the people of the village thought of you and you wanted to show people that they were wrong, So you put your life on the line to gain that respect."

The blonde nodded. He guessed that was a good answer. It made sense somewhat. He used to fight with Sasuke all the time but, they did become friends. He was amazed at how much she knew. Not just about him but the others too. Shino, Kiba Sakura and Ino. Then Sasuke and him. It made him wonder how long exactly Hinata had been watching them. She was always quiet and kept mostly to herself. She was probably observant by nature, while she was on the sidelines she was probably watching everything everyone did.

Come to think about it, he found it a little creepy that he was being watched by the girl, but in a way it was kind of, adorable for the lack of a better word.

Naruto noticed the girl blushing and figured he was staring at her too long. He didn't notice the smile that snuck its way on his face, but he did notice that the girl was smiling even if she was looking down at her plate with an uncomparable blush. He pushed his half-eaten plate aside. "Hey If your done eating, why don't we go walk around some more? No point in sitting still longer then you half to right?"

The dark haired girl looked up from her meal, she glanced at Naruto's unfinished meal unsurely. Naruto followed her look and shrugged. "Eh the food wasn't that great." He said as he placed the money on the table and pulled the girl from her chair and dragged her past all the other tables and obstacles, before they left the building behind and made their way threw the crowed streets.

The girl felt herself blushing full blast as she her own hand was once again found in the blondes. She could feel the rough texture where his hands were calloused, the spots that were put threw the most work in training and fighting. She could remember watching him train, over and over and sometime she noticed that his hands would get bloody where the skin was rubbed raw or burned when he used too much chakra.

Her hands weren't all that different, she was a ninja as well so it was normal for their skin to get a bit calloused from using certain weapons or fighting styles. Although hers weren't as bad they were still there and she knew that Naruto could probably feel them if he was paying as much attention. Then maybe he would notice how hard she training.

She smiled again as the rushed past the small place they had just came out of. For a second she thought she saw the others out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned to get a better look they were gone. Maybe her mind decided it would be funny to play tricks on her.

-----

It was a while before they stopped. Both sat on the ground tired from walking so long, it didn't help that neither of them knew where they were.

The pace was pretty secluded and there were only a few people around who seemed to be either training or just sitting around talking to one or two other people. There were a few buildings that could be seen, the largest one was the structure where Hinata knew the Kazekage was sitting at a large desk hiding his face behind piles of documents, most of which would hold no importance. Maybe they could go there and find their way to their hotel from there.

"Man I think I walked off a week's worth of food from that walk." Naruto laughed as he laid back on the ground. "This is nothing like home, at least in leaf we have grass to lay on."

Hinata nodded in agreement. She had to admit to herself that the hard dirt made the ground back home seem like paradise.

"What do you think the others are up to? I bet Sakura went to the bath house, she hates being dirty." Naruto said with amusement as he rested his head on his hands.

Hinata looked down at the hyper boy and had to look away as she felt her self starting to blush again. "Well, Shino's probably preparing for the trip back home, and Kiba could be sleeping. However, they could be training."

"That sound like a good idea! Hey Hinata why don't we spar?" He jumped up and turned to her hopefully.

The girl didn't know what to say. Did he really want to train with her? It could be fun to train with Naruto, but what if he went easy on her or she messed something up. But that's why they called it training right? "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, the others aren't around, Sakura wouldn't even if she was here. SO that leaves you" He said happily grabbing her hand for the third time that day and helping her up.

"I-I don't know if . . . "

Naruto pouted and pulled her at her hand a little. "Don't make me train by myself!" He whined, faking tears.

The Hyuuga laughed at the childish display before giving in and nodding. "Alright."

"Yeah!" The blonde yelled before backing away from his opponent and getting into his position.

Hinata watched and closed her eyes taking a deep breath to try and focus, finally she nodded and got fell into her stance, listening to Naruto explaining the rules.

The rules were simple, no genjutsu, no weapons, and no dodging.

---------

"Crap, we lost them!"

Sakura growled in frustration. "How could you possibly lose them?! Were you not just bragging about your tracking skills?!"

"Hey I don't see you doing anything. Besides the way Naruto runs their probably half way across town by now." Kiba sighed. "We should probably just head back."

"No way! Don't you want to see what there doing? What if something happens?" The pink haired girl said while thinking out multiple outcomes of the date.

Kiba grumbled to himself about girls and walked away leaving Shino to deal with the currently absentminded female. He wasn't going to stick around and listen to the girls rants any longer then he had too.

"Kiba where are you going, don't you want to find out what happens? What if they-"

"The only thing they've been doing is talking. And that's all they will do because Hinata's to shy to make a move and Naruto's too dense to read signals."

Sakura half glared at Shino, placing her hands on her hips in an irritable fashion. "What makes you so sure about that? Naruto has grown up a little."

"Growing mature and being able to read body language are two different things, Haruno"

Sakura let her arms drop to her sides as her air filled lungs deflated. "I guess you're right. At least this gives me time to bathe and shop for clothes." The girl started planning her schedule following behind Shino, who was following Kiba's earlier direction.

-----

They had stayed out all day and it was currently time for bed but, Naruto had a giant grin as he opened the door to the hotel. "Wow. I should train with you more often Hinata!" He exclaimed as he plopped down onto the bed that Sakura would later shove him off of. Were where they anyway?

Hinata blushed at the compliment but shook her head. "I'm not th-that great. I'm sure Sakura would have been a more challenging opponent."

"Are you kidding?" He said sitting up. He stared at the girl for a minute for what seemed to him no reason, before letting himself fall back onto the mattress. "You know what your problem is Hinata?"

The girl's head shot up like a bullet. "Wh-what?" her voice came out low squeak as she felt her limited self esteem go pouring down the drain.

She had a problem? There was something wrong with her? Did she do something weird on their date? Was it something she said?

These question kept repeating over and over in her head like a broken record as she waited in terror for the boy to answer.

She heard Naruto sigh while he jumped of his bed and right on hers. The sudden action caused her to back into the corner of the bed to lean against the wall. The familiar feel of blood rushing into her cheeks made it self known as the blond's face got a little too close to her own. It was Right then and there that she wondered if Naruto ever realized the awkwardness he caused due to his childish actions. Then again, she would probably been even more embarrassed if he was thinking on age level.

Naruto gave a playful smirk and placed his index finger on the girl's cheek. "That right there! Your way too shy. You get embarrassed too easy!" He said laughing as her blush deepened.

He pulled away and watched as the girl looked away from him and to the floor. She looked like she was ready to pass out, but couldn't because of her current position. He smiled and got off the girls' bed. He turned around and pulled out his sleeping bag setting it on the ground a little bit away from Sakura's bed, but only enough so she could walk by without stepping on him.

He heard the girl's blankets moving around but only spared a second long glance before getting into his own sleeping space. He snuggled into his bag and clung onto his pillow like a stuffed animal. He stared at the wall thinking about his day. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. He actually had fun hanging out with her. "Hey Hinata?"

There was a small pause before the girl answered. "Yes, Naruto"

Naruto paused as well, the voice sounded muffled like she was under her blanket. The blond chanced to look over at her and sure enough the only thing he could see of the girl was the top of her head. He smiled at the sight for a few seconds before speaking. "When we get back home, would you like to go out again . . . on a.. date?" he asked slowly, the whole ordeal still being new.

"O-of course!"

The boy smiled at the happy tone in Hinata's voice making a mental not to ask her when before the went out. He looked back the other way and got comfortable again.

It was a couple minutes later when he was half way asleep before he heard the shy voice.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah, what is it?" He asked trying not to sound tired.

There was that pause again, and for a split second Naruto wanted to look up to see what was taking her, but he was to exhausted to move.

"Do you really . . . do you really think that I'm to shy?"

Naruto let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, but it's kind of cute . . . good night Hinata. " He said knowing that the girl was probably blushing and burying herself further into her sheets. Though he wasn't lying, he did think it was cute. He was starting to like the fact that she would blush so much around him. Besides he couldn't imagine the girl acting like Sakura or Ino and heavens for bid she act like Temari.

If she wasn't so timid, then she wasn't Hinata. If she was Hinata then he wouldn't find it cute. No wait . . . that didn't make sense, did it?

Naruto huffed out a breath before pulling his blanket over his now aching head.

**_Did that seem a llittle rushed to you? eh oh well, like I said I almost commited suicide over this chapter. I was origannally going to make this a jealousy chapter where Hinata got jelous but, then I just couldn't picture her getting that way, and if she did I really could picture how she would act, I was thinking she would probably just stay quiet and seemingly 'offhandedly' drag naruto away from the other girl, but then I was thinking she was too nice for it so I pitched the idea and this chapter is what I slowly came up with. well this and a bunch of Naruto in highschool type fics but then I thought it was a little over done so pitched those too. lol. Well as Always, I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can. And don't be afraid to correct my wrong and wrong my right!! sorry I'm a little hyper..._**

**_but I will worry about this after the Holidays, well actually I'll probably be working on the next chapter in between chores and get together with the family. so yeah...Once again happy Holiday, and what not. Now I go forth to decorate the tree! and hopefully get a peak at what Santa brought me!_**

**_Merry X-Mas, my Darling Fans!!. . .Just Kidding. but seriously HAPPY X-MAS!_**


	9. Thank You

**_Sorry for the long wait for the update, and yes I am aware that Sakura is out of character at the end, atleast I think she is. I haven't watched naruto for a while,but I apologize. But Yeah, I really didn't know were I was trying to go with this chapter but I liked how it ended. . .sort of I think I could of did more with it. but oh well, SO enjoy,_**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto_**

**Step 7: Thank You.**

It had been a wonderful couple of days for Hinata and Naruto. The blonde showered the shy girl with complements and gifts and Proclaimed his love for her to the whole village at the top of his lungs every day while at night he gave her sweet naive kisses good night and whispered that he loved her before going to his own bed and falling into a peaceful sleep knowing that his one and only was only one bed away.

Every day it seemed like they had there own personal circle of space where the sun seemed to light the both of them up no matter how bad the weather. Their own little atmosphere of love that made even the most hate-filled person smile and feel their icy heart melt.

At least that's how Sakura pictured it all in her head the day she found out the date between the two went great.

She woke up the next morning to find Hinata sitting in her bed reading a book that she knew for a fact the girl had finished just before they reached sand. She also found Naruto organizing his backpack, which was definitely out of character.

Now here there where two weeks later and they had only been on one other date and still nothing really happened between them.

Sure Hinata was shy, but she figured at least Naruto would have made a move.

The relationship between the two really was going nowhere. Sakura growled to herself in frustration over the small problem, exaggerating everything in her head.

"You can practice that forever but, it'll never sound intimidating."

Sakura jumped in surprise and turned to face the man behind her. "Oh, it's just you."

"Yeah, nice to see you again too . . . " Kiba responded a little offended.

"Sorry . . . it's just that Naruto and Hinata . . . "

Kiba rolled his eyes at the girl. "Your not still going on about that are you?"

Sakura looked off to the side holding her gaze for a few seconds before they wandered to the ground and then back up at Kiba. "Well, it's been two weeks and they've only went on two dates and if you ignore the fact that we had to threaten him to ask her out on the first one . . . there not getting very far."

"Sakura you have to stop spying on them like this. Besides true love takes time to develop." He said shoving his hands into his pockets, akamaru giving him a bark of agreement.

Sakura was once again looking at him surprised. "When did you get so smart?"

The dog boy shrugged. "Shino said it when I asked what was taking those two so long."

"Should have known. . .Wait! That means you where spying to! You hypocrite!"

"Hey, I'm not a nosy little brat, I wasn't spying, I was asking my questions and what do you know, I received answers." Kiba said mocking amazement.

Sakura glared, "Your no better idiot, that's still being nosy! Who in their right mind just asks people questions like that?!"

"Who in their right mind hides in bushes and spies on people?"

The girl opened her mouth to say something, Pointing an accusing finger at him but her angered expression was replaced by a scared look as she grabbed his arm and pulled him behind the nearest building.

"Hey!"

The pink haired female clamped a hand over his mouth. "Shhh! They're coming this way!" she said peaking around the corner and quickly pulling back. "That's weird. They didn't plan anything like this today."

Kiba blinked confused. "What?"

Sakura sighed, "Naruto was supposed to train all day and Hinata had plans to go shopping with Ino."

"I guess stalking Sasuke al those years had a lot of practice with the whole business, didn't you." He asked looking at the girl a little freaked out about her spying skills.

Sakura gave him an innocent smile let out a giggle. "I have no Idea what your talking about Kiba."

Kiba scooted away from the female. Naruto had warned him about that whole act. She would act all sweet then in an instant she would swing, knocking you through a wall.

----------

"- but Ino got caught up at the shop . . . so. . . . "

"Bummer."

Naruto and Hinata were walking down one of the streets of their village. They had met up a few minutes ago by coincidence. Hinata was on her way back home from the flower shop, and Naruto was on his way to the training field, just getting done at the Ramen stand. "Hey why don't we train together, You can help me out with dodging or chakra control."

Hinata looked at him from the corner of her eye. She had always watched him train with Sasuke or by himself and when he did train he always had this determined look in his eyes and he would act more serious, but not completely. There would still be a playful spark in them. She had also watched him fight at tournaments and things, he would have the same look in his eyes but it would be intensified and the playfulness would be gone.

The only thing that didn't change between spars and the real thing was his spirit, no matter how hard he was beat up and no matter how much blood he lost, he always found away to get back on his feet. So it wasn't any wonder why the first time she sparred him she was intimidated. She felt so over whelmed that she passed out twice. Once when he went to attack then again when he woke her up and she realized how close to her he was.

After that though she calmed her self trying to keep her embarrassment down, it didn't help when he asked if she did that when she trained with Shino and Kiba. Finally though they got around to sparring and she was surprised at how strong Naruto actually was.

She had a hard time keeping up with the blonde but she was always right behind him and it wasn't like sparring with Kiba or Shino or fighting against an unknown enemy. She actually didn't know what to call it, It was scary but it was exciting and it made her look at fighting in a whole knew way. Like it was fun to fight. The competitive streaks and the adrenaline rushes. It was such an exhilarating experience.

Hinata smiled at Naruto and nodded. ". . .All right."

Naruto smiled back as they headed to the training field.

He didn't know what it was exactly about Hinata that he liked, it was like he couldn't pinpoint it. On the outside she seemed shy and timid, but on the inside he knew there was more brave, more fierce. He just had to drag it out of her. However, for that to happen he had to get break threw her self-conscious barriers. If he got past that maybe she'd feel a bit more . . . not so edgy around him.

It was fun to hang out with her though. Although it took her about an hour for her to start acting more natural around him. It made him happy that she felt relaxed around him, but at times he found him self missing her blushes.

And right now was one of those times.

They walked in a comfortable silence for a couple minutes and Naruto kept looking at the girl waiting for something to pop into his mind that would make her blush. However, only one thing came to mind.

There budding relationship wasn't widely known, just a their teams and Ino who Sakura 'just had to tell'. So it was probably safe to assume that Choji and Shikamaru knew too. It was a good thing those two weren't so gossipy.

The walked quietly for a few more seconds before he reached out and grabbed the Hyuuga girls hand gently slipping his fingers between hers.

Naruto watched as Hinata looked down at their entwined hands surprised then slowly look up at him, a blush on her face that could have been noticed from way across the village.

She gave him a timid smile and in return he gave her a flashy grin. The pale eyed girl gave a light laugh and shyly looked down to her feet and she hesitantly rested her head on his shoulder for a few second which gave the blond just enough time to rest his head on hers lightly in a some form of a hug.

----

Kiba held one hand to his ears trying to block out the deafening tone of pink haired girl's squeal. "Do you mind?!"

"Didn't you see it? He did something, He made a move!" She hissed at him trying not to blow her cover. Evidently she had forgotten about the high-pitched squeal she let out not but a few seconds ago.

"Yeah so. . . . " Kiba said causally looking away from the girl before and him and two the blossoming couple that were walking down the street.

It was then that he noticed that Naruto had stopped and was currently looking around crowed like he was searching for something. Kiba grinned and looked back at Sakura abutment flashing in his eyes.

Sakura who was to busy mentally cheering her teammate on, didn't realize that Kiba had waved to both the blonde and the blushing girl at his side. She really didn't have a clue that both people were on their way over until a taller shadow covered her own and a voice that she knew all to well spoke up.

"Um . . . Sakura? What are you doing?"

Sakura spun on her feet quickly and flashed Naruto a smile. "Oh nothing just thinking about redecorating my room." She said hastily and started shoving the curious boy towards his date while listening to her inner-self yell about the horrible lie.

Naruto gave her a suspicious glance. " Thinking about redecorating your room? In an alley?" He asked turning around to face her. He watched her nod and shook his head. " I think your losing it Sakura."

"Are you calling me a liar?!" She yelled at the blond in an offended tone, balling up her fist and glaring.

"What? No! It's just that I heard you talking to Ino the other day and you said you just got done doing your room, and well . . . I just thought that it was strange to be redoing your room so soon!" Sakura seemed to calm down somewhat, well she relaxed her hands at least. "Your not spying on us are you Sakura?" it was said in a playful joking manner tended to make the girl laugh and joke back however she didn't seem so amused.

"Yup! She's been following you guys around since day one! She's been practically spying on you guys twenty-four seven." He said chuckling at Naruto's expression.

The blonde gave Sakura a shocked looked before he let out a defeated sighed and slumped forward. "Why don't you have any faith in me?"

Sakura let out a sigh of her own. " Sorry, but you know you do have a tendency to screw up a lot, and face it you don't have a lot of experience with dating, so you bound to screw something up."

"Harsh" was all Kiba could whisper to himself as he stood beside Hinata watching the other two argue over Naruto's bad luck with girls and life in general.

Naruto turned his back to Sakura huffing in response to her ongoing lecture.

Sakura shook her head. "Face it Naruto unless it has to do with fighting you are a complete screw up."

"Sakura! That's not true!" Both Kiba and Sakura looked at the girl completely taken aback while Naruto looked at her gratefully. The girl's eye's widened at her on outburst and she had to resisted the urge to cover her face. "Wh-what I mean . . . is . . . that he . . . That he's accomplished a lot . . . And he's a really great person."

"I didn't say he was a great person, but He's just not all that smart in some area's of life. I mean he didn't even know what to do with the flower you gave him." Sakura replied, trying to get her point across.

The smaller female looked down at the ground in embarrassment. "I know . . . but that doesn't . . . it doesn't mean th-"

"Hinata . . . you don't have to explain. " Kiba said calmly cutting her off before she could finish, and he shot a glare at the pink haired girl a glare. "You know he might screw up a lot but you don't have to throw it in his face. Espescially things like _that_." He spat at the girl, emphasizing 'that'.

Sakura glared back. "I'm only trying to say that he-"

"I know I'm a screw up but you're no better." Naruto yelled quickly shutting the girl up. "You even set it your self, when we were younger and you were always getting in the way. You always called your self a problem."

Sakura stood in silence for a while before sighing for a second time. "I know, It's just that your . . . " the girl went quiet again. "Just forget it. Here take this." She said shoving a couple pieces of paper in the blonds hand. "As an apology for the way acted. I was going to give them to Ino but she's on another diet anyway."

She didn't wait for a reply before walking out into the crowded streets, giving Kiba one last glare.

He glared at the girls back till she was out of sight. "Little snob . . . "

"Man what's her problem lately. She's acting like Sasuke on a bad day, only less calm and more talking." Naruto said scratching the back of his head and looking at the two slips of paper in his hand.

Hinata looked around quietly, locking eyes with Kiba for a second before smiling and looking back at Naruto.

"I can only imagine." Kiba said as he looked from Hinata to the Naruto, who's blush was quickly fading and smirked. "I'll catch up with you two love birds later!" He yelled and ran out into the crowd, going the opposite way of the girl that had left moments before.

This time both the teens blushed at their fullest from the Inuzuka's last words, looked at each other for a second before nervously looking away and walking out of the alley.

This time it was Hinata who grabbed a hold of the blondes hand, squeezing it gently. "Let's get to . . . the training ground . . . before it gets dark."

Naruto Gave her a sheepish grin and nodded pocketing his two coupons for free Ramen. "All right." He murmured squeezing back. He'd put off his teammate's strange attitude till later.

"Hey Hinata?"

"Yes, Naruto?" the girl asked looking up at him curiously.

The blond looked at her, blushing again "Thank you." He said softly.

It took a couple seconds for Hinata to figure out what he meant, but when it finally clicked in, she blushed alongside him, giving him a smile of her own.

* * *

Ok so maybe there all a bit out of character. lol the chapters probably a little short to huh? Sorry but like I said i didn't know were to go with it. well I'm going to babysit demon children from hell and play A.C. oh and let me know how the grammer was. I wasn't paying attention half the time while trying to check over it so yeah. . later! 


	10. Dinner With family Pt1: Do I Have To?

**_Hey everybody, hope it hasn't been too long since I last updated. And I'll tell you upfront there wasn't really a reason for it this time aside from me just being ridiculously lazy and to absorbed with my videogames. also to tell the truth I haven't been satisfied with my writing lately either. somethings defenitely missing. However I just finished this chapter a few minutes ago, I wasn't going to post it till tomorrow cause I'm a little sick and was being lazy, not wanting to connect to the internet, but had a second thought about what happened the last time I procrastinated. Took me two days to clean my room. _**

**_Anyway heres chapter eight! enjoy, hopefully._**

**Step 7-Dinner With Family Part one- Do I have to?**

**

* * *

Hey how about this one?!"**

Hinata let out her seventh fit of giggles as the energetic blonde came out from behind a clothing rack wearing a pink bonnet and dress both having white lace and bows. The hat was at least two sizes to big and lean to the side. The dress however almost fit him but was made apparent that it was for a taller person as he tried to parade around the small area like a model on the catwalk, falling when his feet got wrapped in the material.

After one to many trips to the tiled floor the blond decided to take off the ridiculously puffy dress. He glanced over at Hinata who's face was lightly colored by her laughing and couldn't help but let out a laugh of his own.

The girl walked over to the male gently taking the dress from him placing it back on a hanger before walking off. Naruto sat there in confusion wondering where the pale eyed girl had gone off to and was just about to go looking for her before she walked back to him. "I think . . . you should try this one." She said holding up a casual looking outfit, smiling. She watched Naruto observed the clothing. It was a normal black shirt with a blue jacket and pants.

The boy gave a long questioning gaze at the outfit slowly taking it from the girl who seemed to be trying to avoid his eyes. "Um Hinata, why are we here again?"

Hinata blushed quickly turned around looking at the dresses. "I. . I have to find a dress for a formal dinner. My father is hosting a dinner with a family from another village under the Hokage's orders. It's political so most of them will be in a higher class."

"You mean like fancy rich people in tuxedos' formal gowns that show off their expensive jewelry and talk about how much money they have." Naruto asked a little bitter by his own thoughts on the financially lucky.

Hinata gave a small nod and a sad smile to Naruto. "But, um well . . . It's just that I, uh father said it would give a better image if I . . . well if I had a date, so. . . . " the girl's words faded as her blushing increased and she looked down at the floor a little embarrassed.

"So who are ta . . . " Naruto cut himself off as the girl looked up at him with a timid look. "Me? B-but I can't! I . . ." This time it was the blonde that trailed off. He couldn't find the right words to refuse and there was definitely no way he could just give her a flat out 'no'. Sighing the male nodded in agreement. "All right . . . but are you sure I'm the right guy to take to that sort of thing?"

Hinata smiled and took his hand. "Don't worry. Everything will be ok!"

Naruto smiled back once again nodding, as the girl dragged him to the mens clothing. _'Yeah everything will be fine I hope.'_

Ino shook her head slowly while taking a small sip from her cup. Sakura was sitting across from her resting her head in her hands, spacing out. Kiba and Shino were sitting across from each other as well both remaining silent as the pink haired ninja sighed.

"Did you really think he would screw up that badly, I mean he has grown up a lot. Even if he's still a goof-off." The blond said, the last part coming out as an after thought.

Sakura sighed annoyingly for the nineteenth time in one hour and nodded.

"Why? Okay, sure he isn't all that great with women and he's a bit dense, but I'm sure he can handle this on his own." Kiba said crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. He let out a growl of frustration when the girl just gave him a look that clearly asked him if he was crazy.

Shino decided now was a good time to interfere and spoke up. "Naruto as proved time and again that he is in fact dense in certain situations, which would include dating, However you must take notice that he is older and things like this do come naturally, even for someone like Naruto." The wiser of the two males watched as both girls nodded, one in understanding and one in agreement.

"Yeah and then there's Hinata herself! If anyone understands his thinking pattern, it's her! She has been watching him for a long time." Ino exclaimed cheerfully placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder hoping to cheer her up.

Sighing the pink haired teen nodded "I guess I just have a little bit of trouble seeing him as his new self. I still see him as that moronic little knucklehead who never thought before he acted. It just worries me when stuff like this happens, and all he's went through. I don't want to see him hurt." She somewhat confessed. It was true, most of the time she still saw him as that childish kid who loved to prank everyone and complain about the low ranked missions they were forced to do. Well he still complained about the missions but that wasn't the point.

Kiba let out a sigh of his own. "If you ask me, I think you're just worried about him leaving you behind just like the Uchiha did." As soon as the words left his mouth he instantly regretted it, because now both women sat there with gloomy looks on their faces and an aura of despair surrounding the both of them. The man could feel the sweat drip down the side of his face as his guilt started to plague him.

Shino sat by idly and watched his teammate sputter out apologies which went unnoticed by the two mourning females.

Naruto pulled at the blue jacket missing the blinding colors of his normal attire. "I-I don't know if this really looks like it suits me Hinata, it looks to . . . maybe something a little brighter."

The girl stood outside the dressing room waiting for the boy to come out and smiled in amusement. "Naruto your not use to formal clothing. You could probably borrow something from Neji, He has a few things that might look okay on you . . . Although they're more traditional" she said watching the boy come out of the dressing room in the black and blue suit. Maybe he did need something different.

"Do you think he would actually let me wear something of his?" Naruto asked nervously. He was a little uncomfortable at the thought. Getting pulverized by Neji wasn't something he wanted to do.

"You're his friend. Why wouldn't he?"

Naruto nodded and walked back into the room to change back into his clothes, coming out two minutes later in his own clothes. "Hey, why don't we go get something to eat, Im starving!" The blonde stated loudly as they passed by the other customers and workers. "I want Ramen how about you!"

The young girl held her bag to her chest and looked down for a second absorbed in thought before looking back at him. "Um actually Naruto . . . I was wondering if . . . if maybe you would be willing to try something . . . different"

"Naruto blinked in confusion and stopped walking. "What do you mean?"

Hinata stopped when she heard Naruto stop and she looked away nervously. "I. . .it's . . . w-well the dinner is going to be long and I th-thought that . . . maybe it wouldn't hurt to try something new, b-before hand . . . you don't have to if you d-do-"

The female Hyuuga cut her self off when Naruto moved to step next to her, grabbed her hand and gave it one gentle tug and pulled her into him. She looked up in question, only to look back down with a blush. Opening her mouth she tried to form words even though she knew it was in vein, she didn't know what to say. She brought her bag back to her chest and started messing with the plastic handles.

The eccentric blonde ninja looked at the girl smiling to himself as he wrapped an arm around her, confidently . She was blushing again and was having a hard time speaking. He thought it was cute. He couldn't help it. He didn't know why it was attractive to him, it just was. Besides, is it really all that wrong to feel happy from someone else's giddiness?

Probably.

It wasn't like he never felt that way around her. He had blushed here and there. There had been times when he didn't know what to say or said something off topic because of his nervousness. He had even started being abnormally hygienic. This morning he had taken a shower even though he took one right before bed last night and the yesterday morning because for some reason the thought of him smelling like he just got back from training while being around Hinata didn't really sound all that great. Hurting her feeling when she was trying to help him sounded even worse.

Grinning Naruto gave Hinata a strong one armed hug, "All right let's go!"

Hinata nodded and began to happily drag him off to one of the more exotic restaurants in their village. She didn't know which one yet, but she was sure that Naruto wouldn't go back on his word of trying something new.

"You act like an overprotective sister . . . You know what they say about worrying too much and with a forehead as big as yours wrinkles can be seen all the way across town!" Ino said grinning playfully and she flicked her rival right in the middle of her head, laughing.

Sakura gave the blond a half-hearted glare. "Yeah, and you know what they say about blonds, and your lack of intelligence is incredibly noticeable."

Ino playful grin now looked a little forced as her hand traveled from its spot in midair to grab on Sakura's bangs and give a playful warning tug. "Don't start up with that, Sakura you know what they say about being bitter!"

Sakura reached out and gave Ino's hair playful tug of her own. "And you know what they say about hogs with ego's"

Kiba looked back and forth between the girl feeling a sense of danger. The feeling was drastically increasing with each word the girls shot at each other. He looked over to warn Shino, but ended up looking in confusion when his eyes locked onto an empty seat. His best friend had abandoned him. Left him alone with to enraged harpies who were about to create an all out war, and Kiba him self would eventually fall victim to an onslaught that was not meant for him and he would be the like an innocent bystander casualty.

"Hey Kiba who do you think Sasuke would have chosen? Me . . . or Ms Forehead?" the blonde asked still having a hold on the other female's hair. Sakura however had switched and now one hand was holding Ino by the collar of her shirt and the other hand was trying to get Ino's grip to loosen up.

Or maybe he would just fall victim to a malicious trap set up by the blonde siren herself.

It had taken a while to find the place Hinata had been looking for. It was apparently a large expensive looking building that had the shape of a shrine. A stone path lead to the door of the giant building and you could see a small fraction of well-kept garden peaking out from behind it.

Naruto stared at his food hiding his fear of what looked and smelt like outdated Chinese take-out. He looked up at Hinata a little unsurely, but Hinata only gave him a reassuring smile and urged him to try it.

Naruto gulped as he stabbed at his food, almost dropping his utensil when he swore he saw it move. "A-are you sure this stuff is safe to eat? I think it's still alive . . . whatever it is."

Hinata giggled and took a bite of her own food. "I know it doesn't l-look good but . . . it's n-not so bad."

Gulping again the blonde took another small piece from the plate and slowly brought it towards him, he had to keep himself from gagging at the smell. He could hear death himself cackling evilly in the back ground, waiting to take his soul as he brought the concoction closer. The music of demise played chaotically from somewhere in the distance as he opened his mouth to chomp down on the vile mixture of ingredients.

Then a puff of smoke clouded his vision and he breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe for the time being.

"Neji? What is it?" Hinata asked looking over at her cousin curiously.

The quiet boy gave an apologetic bow for interrupting the two. "The Hokage requests are presence immediately."

Naruto gave a huge grin jumped out of his seat. "All right we'll be there in a flash!" He said in what Hinata thought was an overly eager tone and started calling for the waiter to bring the check.

Hinata and Neji exchanged nods and the male left the same way he arrived, leaving some of the other customers to wonder what was going on or mutter about how Shinobi over use their abilities.

The girl sighed as they walked out the door and headed to the Hokage's office. She was a little put down that Naruto didn't get to try the food, and that he was obviously happy that he didn't. She was happy as well though, for two reasons. The first was because the boy was willing to actually try it, the second was that if he actually did manage to taste it he probably would have had a gagging fit. The food was horrible, she had lied when she said it wasn't that bad but it was going to be served at her the dinner and he had to get used to it's . . . interesting taste.

"Hey Hinata, look!"

She looked up and seen Naruto pointing out into the crowded streets. She followed the direction she was pointing in a saw a very irritated Kiba walking around the corner followed by to very enraged Kunoichi. All three looked a little disheveled and she was sure Kiba was trying to hide a slight limp in his left leg. Sakura and Ino were refusing to look at each other and both in the process of fixing their hair. "Kiba?!"

Naruto watched as Hinata called out to her friend concerned about his health. Kiba looked over at the both of them and waved sullenly. He took a closer look at the other mans appearance noticing the varies scratches, bruises and the small rips in the collar of his shirt. "What happened to you? You look like you just lost a fight to an alley cat?"

The dog lover gave the boy an unamused glare crossing his arms in front of him defensively. "Close enough."

"You better watch your self Inuzuka!" Ino yelled from behind him warningly as she separated her ponytail into two sections and pulled them apart trying to tighten it.

Sakura smirked, placing her hand on her hips sternly. "Or do we have to give you another training lesson, dog boy?"

Naruto couldn't help but snicker at the small twitch in Kiba's eye when Sakura mentioned 'training'. He really had to keep his laughter in when the unusually grumpy teen grumbled about overbearing women and psychotic female minds. He didn't know what his friend did to gain the temporary hatred of the two girls but he would be sure to ask later to ensure his own safety.

Kiba didn't miss the blondes withheld laughter and glared menacingly. "One word and you're dead." He growled out as Naruto opened his mouth to make some stupid remark about the pink haired girl's threat.

"All right fine! Come on Hinata we better get to the Hokages office before the old hag starts looking for us." The blonde said gesturing to the large builing, which could be seen from almost anywhere within the village. He watched her nod in agreement waving. "See you guys around!"

The pale eyed girl bowed to their friends. "It was nice to see all of you." she said bowing politely listening to Naruto give a hyper 'See you later' before she was practically dragged down the streets.

The three left behind all gave their own looks of amusment, watching the couple run down the road crasing into a middleaged man who only recieved a quick embarrassed apology from the girl before she ran straight out view.

Sakura winced as she watched the scene unfold but had to admit it was a little humorous, even though she felt a little sorry for the shy girl. "Do you think hinata will be able to keep up with his endless suply of energy?

Ino grinned at the pink haired girl. "No, that teammate of yours will be the death of her"

Kiba silently agreed with a small nod, thinking about how Ino and Sakura would be the cause of his own horrible bloody demise. "Yeah, I'm getting out of here before I get myself brutally murdered." he mumbled jumping up, deciding to travel by rooftop. Leaving the girls only slightly aggravated at the accusation.

* * *

Well there it is. Thats it, another piece of writing that I'm not satisfied with. lol but seriously I haven't figured out why i'm not satisfied with it. Oh well Maybe It'll hit me while I'm hovering over the garbage can after dinner. As always, State your opinion, and if it's not to much to ask, pray that I get better withing the week! My aunts visting next sunday and I really don't want to get her sick, lol.


	11. Dinner With Family Pt2: What She Thinks

**_Yay I can Update again!! lol, I had a small problem with my computer. . .actuallyit was due to the fact that my cat likes to chew on cords, hmm. . .Any way I feel this cahpter ais a tad bit more likeable then the last one at least to me. I really need to start watching Naruto again, I think there getting a little too out of Character. _**

**_But Enjoy!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto._**

**Step 7- Dinner with Family Part two - What He's Like**

The Hyuuga house was mostly packed with women who were either overly dressed with expensive Kimono's and dress and where covered head to toe in jewelry. Some women had put aside being over dressed and decided to be slightly underdressed with slitted, low-cut dresses and short skirts. Some of the more decent women wore normal outfits with simple and less blinding jewelry.

The men were a whole different story. Being less inclined to show off their wealth by wearing expensive treasure that weighed twenty pounds stuck with wearing business like suites or like the head of the Hyuuga family, wore more traditional clothes and talked about their financial well being.

Naruto stood fro once quietly Next to Hinata, who was talking to a girl who was only slightly older then her. The girl obviously belonged to one of the more extravagant couple at the party. How could one tell? Well the abnormally large diamonds around her neck for one. Then her earing that looked like they would tear her ears if she moved too much. Here purple dress was low cut and had diamonds on the edges, clearly to gain attention.

"So Hinata I take it this is your date? Not much to look at his he?" she said observing the blonde. "Why would you even ask him out?"

"H-He's a gre-"

The older girl cut Hinata off with an arrogant laugh and waved a hand in a dismissing the her response. "Forget it sweety, why don't you come with me and get acquainted with the rest of us, I'm sure your . . . boyfriend wouldn't mind. Would you boy?"

Naruto wanted desperately to tell the girl off but kept his mouth shut and glared at her instead. She didn't have any rights to address him the way she did. Besides the girl was obviously enjoyed making Hinata blush, For a completely different reason then his own, sure but that was still something only he could do.

She whispered a couple of words about things that the blonde probably wouldn't have understood any way and took Hinata's hand and pulled her away from him. He watched slightly dumbfounded as Hinata looked back once gave him a timid little smile of comfort before being dragged into the main room.

Sighing he looked around at all the people in the room and suddenly remembered why he was sticking so close to Hinata. There were so many people and the rooms that weren't locked were nearly packed parents and their kids.

The adults were talking about politics and money or their family's future and the teenagers were talking about what family they wanted to marry into. The only people in the whole place that seemed normal were the children who were running threw crowed room in some form of tag.

It was through his clever observations of what was normal and what was not normal that the blonde who was famous for his pranks and rash behavior that Naruto had found himself entertaining the youngest crowd of the party.

The children seemed to take a liking to Naruto and listened in awe at the stories he told from his mission. He told them of missions from when he was still a genin all the way till his recent one to Sand, leaving out a few details of course. He even told them about his days in the academy when he would skip class and prank innocent villagers. Though after he told them he had a feeling he would someday regret.

--

Hinata peeked out the doorway to try and find Naruto. The girl that had dragged her away from him was starting to make her less and less willing to talk to her. She had know the girl from child hood. The girl's name was, Minna. Although Hinata couldn't say she hated the girl, she wasn't too fond of her. Every time they were together she would always talk down to her and insult her in someway, wether it be her, herself, her clothes, her way of talking or her family. This time she chose not to only target her but Naruto too.

All the girls had been talking about was him. So far she had gone over his 'shabby' appearance, his 'horrible personality and his 'nonexistent' manners. Then, when she found out that Naruto wasn't part of any well known family, she had put him down completely telling Hinata that she had been wasting her time with that 'common trash' and how should go for someone who had something to offer.

"Well, I'll let you think about your situation for a while, I should be with my date, Did I tell you he's an Anbu member?" The girl whispered in a hushed tone making sure no one else could hear smiling happily. "We planned to get married in just a few months."

"Th-that's wonderful, Minna. I'm . . . happy for you." The Hyuuga heiress said politely, not bothering to tell the girl that she knew she was lying.

"When Do You and that boy plan on marrying?"

Hinata felt her face, for the first time in a good few hours, heat up. "Oh! Well . . . we just started dating recently . . . s-so . . . "

"Oh, I see. Do you think it will last?" Minna watched as the girl looked at her questioningly. "I'm just asking, but I mean with your lack of self confidence and nervous stuttering . . . Not to mention your indefinite blushes. Don't you know men like girls who are confident with themselves and aren't afraid to show off a little?"

"Naruto likes me fine. He was the one who asked me out." Hinata stated a little upset. She knew what Minna was doing and it wasn't going to work this time. She wasn't going to be bullied by her peers. Not while Naruto was there watching.

Minna gave the girl a surprised look. It wasn't that Hinata was rude about it, She kept her polite tone and meek posture, but the way she looked at her . . . It was obvious now that the small girl had a spine.

Brushing off her shock she gave the girl a small smirk and sighed, "If that's the case, then, Good luck."

"Same to you, Minna." She said bowing and walking off to find Naruto.

--

"Hinata!" The blonde jumped up from the floor startling the kids in his excitement. "You were in there forever!" He exaggerated, as he looked around room for the red-haired girl. "Where's your . . . friend?" He asked, not sure of how to label the snobby girl from earlier.

The girl heard his hesitation and giggled "Her Name is Minna, She's with her fiancé in the other room." Her facial expression stayed the same but her voice sounded relieved.

Naruto nodded and looked around cautiously before nodding toward a nearly empty spot in the room.

Hinata caught on quickly and followed him. She had almost forgotten they were on a mission.

"Where's Neji?" He asked getting serious.

"I haven't seen him f-for a while. He's probably with father . . . Have you noticed anything, Naruto?" She asked him, looking around making it look like she was merely observing guests.

The blonde shook his head negatively and leaned against the wall. "No, but remember, Tsunade said they could be anyone and any rank. So we have to be careful."

"Right, I'll go find Neji and father." she said before once again walking away and leaving Naruto behind. She just wished that they could have had a normal date. One without any distraction, one where she wouldn't get nervous or blush too much and maybe not be spied on by their friends. Sighing she walked out of the room to find her family.

Naruto frowned watching her leave. He felt a little angry by this whole thing. First time they went out together back in Sand, both of them had been really nervous and it had been a little awkward and whenever they hung out at least one person was spying on them. He knew Hinata was thinking the same thing. He could tell by the apologetic looks she kept throwing him all day and the small habit that she had of tapping her fingers together slightly faster then normal out of frustration.

He himself was angered at the sudden mission. He had planned on coming to the party, spending time with Hinata and to avoid any difficult questions that people had for him. However now he had to find a couple of people who were trying to steal vital information of the Hyuuga clan and the Leaf village all together.

In other words there was no relaxing like he had originally plan nor was there and free time to spend with Hinata so they could bond. It was just the guests, and them as ninja doing their job.

Maybe this was why Ninja were all ways reluctant to get involved in relationships. There was never enough free time for a couple to spend together. Well not in a relaxing way anyway. One was most likely to be gone when the other was home and then they always had to worry about the other who was risking the life.

'A ninja's love life sucks . . . ' Naruto thought bitterly as he started walking around the house for anything out of the ordinary.

--

It had been about two hours since Hinata had gone off to search for Neji. Every half hour or so either Neji or Hinata would find him and fill him in on small things they noticed but nothing that would clue them in on who was a spy.

The whole thing was getting irritating. Not to mention those kids who had tried to use his own pranks against him. First it was the eraser gag. Like he didn't think that a door that was only slightly cracked open was suspicious especially when there were about five kids keeping a close eye on him and laughing as he got closer to the door.

Then there was the paint fiasco that the kids had so graciously held in Neji's room. He knew what was waiting but he couldn't resist the small little trail of paint that lead to the room. He had opened to the door barely missing a second eraser. And he had no time when the kids started throwing small handfuls of paint at him. He could barely contain his own laughter when he threw a smoke bomb down, jumped onto the ceiling and got each little brat in the head with there own gooey mixture.

Needless to say the parents of the children where not happy. Neji was only content for the time being because he hadn't seen his room. He had heard though and he had to take a small little retreat to the back yard to assure him self it wasn't as bad as it sounded.

No, it wasn't. It was worse. He just didn't know it yet.

Naruto was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He slowly looked back to see a tall dark haired man that he had never seen before in his life.

"I'm I correct in assuming, you are Naruto?"

His voice was calm and gentle, yet had this arrogant spiteful undertone. Naruto didn't like it. "Yeah."

The man removed his hand and smirked. "Don't you mean 'Yes, sir'?"

The blonde looked at the man. He didn't look that much older then him, maybe four years at the most. Naruto turned around completely, arms placed lazily on his hips. "Do you want something?"

"You're such a rude boy"

"You're not much older then I am, and until your hair starts greying I'm not calling 'sir'" He said getting a little edging. This guy just didn't sit right with him.

The man seemed to get angry at this and he moved his glass fluidly causing the liquid inside to create a whirlpool. "No wonder the leaf needs this meeting, their subordinates are so hostile not to mention the lack manners." He sneered at him the MAN purple eyes filled with spite.

"Really and what rank are you? A Genin or academy student?"

"You little brat I'm an Anbu captain!" He shouted, not paying attention to how high his voice was or the people giving him sideways glances of annoyance.

Naruto blinked a few times before he started laughing. "Yeah and I'm Hokage!" He laughed out getting ready to turn back around before a fist caught his eye and he immediately flung his hand out to grab it. "Don't even try it. 'Brat'" He mocked throwing the guys fist back at him.

The unknown male glared at him and threw another punch catching the blond of guard, smirking he took a step back. It was a mistake on his part as Naruto recovered quickly and retaliated with a swift kick to the males stomach. He tried to counter with his own kick but his foot was caught and he was flung carelessly back onto the hardwood floor. The infested room soon became one filled with shrieks and startled gasps as the fight progressed.

--

It hadn't taken long before Neji, Hinata and her father to enter the room and pull the two apart. It also hadn't taken long before a forced apology became another instigator for another fight.

About two knocked over tables, a couple broken frames, numerous spills and a few small bruises on Naruto later that Hinata thought it would be best to take Naruto out back away from the crowd.

"Oh man. This is a nightmare! Your dad's gonna kill me! It's not even my fault that guy started it! He swung first! " The blonde shouted before he took a large breath of the fresh air.

The girl next to him looked down wringing her hands together. " I'm sorry Naruto. It's my fault . . . I didn't think . . . M-Maybe I should have asked Kiba or Shino . . . "

"What? No way! Kiba's way too obnoxious and no ones going to like Shino, He's too stuck up! I was definitely the best choice." He yelled quickly putting his hands behind his head in a superior manner. However it didn't take long before his hands fell back to his sides and he sighed. "Really Hinata I'm fine, It's just that all this political stuff and I don't know anything about it. Then those people keep targeting me and I seriously hate that guy!"

"Naruto . . . Y-you shouldn't . . . s-say things like that . . . "

The blonde looked at her from the corner of his eyes. How was it that she could be so forgiving? Even to that girl who had been so nasty toward her earlier. And it wasn't just them. When they were younger Sakura and Ino and sometimes even tenten would tease her about one thing or another and she would forgive them just like that. Then there was Neji, who had practically tried to kill her and treated her like dirt, but all was forgiven. She had never blamed anyone for their cruelness toward her. She always had an excuse for them. For Sakura and Ino it had been 'there just trying to help me get stronger'. He never understood that one. The reason for Tenten was that she was only teasing and didn't mean any harm, and for Neji it was his childhood and how he grew up.

Sighing he put his arms around her pulling her close to him. Even though she hid her face from view he knew she was blushing. He gave a soft smile and rested his head on her shoulder. "You know sometimes I worry about."

She looked up at him questioningly. "W-what d-do . . . What do you mean?"

Naruto went to speak but paused quickly shutting his mouth and shaking his head. "It's nothing." It probably best that she didn't know. She had changed her self in the past to impress him and an unforgiving Hinata, wasn't his Hinata.

Hinata pulled back a little and looked down to the ground. "Oh . . . Um Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"I. . .I, um, I-it's just that, you see I-"

"Hinata, your father wants us all inside were about to dismiss everyone . . . That means you too, Naruto."He said turning around giving the blonde boy a stern look before he could even have second thoughts about running.

Naruto reluctantly followed behind Hinata and Neji. He hadn't liked welcoming the people into the house and he certainly wouldn't like seeing them off.

It only took a minute or two to reach the front door, Hinata and Neji stood in front of Hinata's father and Naruto. Mainly because the bitter blond was trying to hide from the guests who probably weren't at all too forgiving about the fight he had gotten into.

He followed the instructions that Neji and Hinata had told him earlier about saying good bye. Smile, shaking hands, bow formally, throw in a compliment here and there and say your fare wells. Too bad He couldn't even smile with that girl from earlier came waltzing up to them in all her superior glory. The man standing next to her who was trying to rush her along, cleared his throat in irritation. Naruto recognized him as the man he had fought earlier.

Minna shook hands with Hinata and her family, purposely skipping his. "Well it was nice seeing you again Hinata, I hope your father's arrangements go as planned. And Good luck with your . . . boyfriend." She said bitterly, glaring at Naruto.

He happily grinned back. "Yeah, And good luck with yours!" He said trying to hold back his laughter, causing the tall girl to get offended, all her fiancé could do was advert his eyes in the opposite direction.

"Hmph. I don't need luck!"

"You never do when it comes to money." Naruto whispered under his breath"

"What did you just say."

The girl nearly was starting to get mad Naruto knew it, and if it wasn't for Hinata giving him worried glances, he would have kept yapping. "Just talking to myself, that's all." He said smiling again.

"That better be all . . . " she drawled out taking a deep breath and turning back to the other girl. "Well Hinata, I hope you're happy with this boy. It wouldn't due to have your heart broken by his kind."

Hinata looked at the girl and took Naruto's hand, smiling. "Don't worry about me Minna . . . N-Naruto's not that type of person."

The girl scoffed "What type of person is he then, huh?"

Hinata, blushed and looked to the ground "Well um . . . He's l-loyal, kind . . . and h-he's brave and strong . . . He's the type of person who anyone can trust, and I'd do so with my life . . . Naruto will always stay by my side. I hope your fiancé will be the same."

Minna remained quiet for a minute looking back and forth between the two. Finally she shook her head and shrugged. "That would be nice if he was that type of person, but from what I've seen today, I doubt it. Good luck, You'll need it." She said quickly and dragged her fiancé out the door not even saying good bye.

Hinata smiled to herself and watched as Minna walked away. It felt good to finally have something that the girl couldn't verbally ruin. Minna might have more money then the Hyuuga clan soon, but that was okay with, she had something better.

She had Naruto.

--

**_Finally that's done, It took me a few days of typing small sentences at a time when I had an urge to write. However the urge left as quick as it came. well I'm gonna go and eat my dinner that I skipped out on just to finish this, hopefully I don't wake up my grandmother this time, lol_**


	12. Love Birds

_Okay so how long has it been? lol, Sorry, I had to get a new computer and I kind of lost alot of stuff to this story and everything to another story i was goingto start soon so. . .this version of this chapter is short, hasn't been checked over very good and probably has a lot of mistakes, but I did go over it a couple times so hopefully it's readable. Also it's probably not all that good and a little rushed for one chapter, but the origanal version got lost and Iwanted to get SOMETHNG up!_

_But, Enjoy, or just read to say you have. lol_

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto.** _

_Chapter 12: Love Birds_

Four days passed with no disturbance at the Hyuuga household. However everyone remained on guard. Neji had said something about waiting a few more days before they could blow the whole thing off and mark it of as false information or that the spies had given up or no longer needed the Hyuuga's documents.

However those four days left Naruto and Hinata a chance to hang out like normal couples. They used every moment they could to see each other, they had a normal dinner one the first night, no spying friends and no interruption. It had been a pleasant night Naruto told her more stories about his team, and even opened up a bit and told her things he didn't even tell his own team.

She had told him small things about herself, like how she kept a small collection of seashell from the different places she had been and when her admiration for him turned into a crush.

That confession had shocked Naruto, but at the same time it made him happy and he decide not to tell her that he never really noticed her till he had that mission with her.

From then on it had been simple things like meeting up with each other for lunch or taking a small walk around the village just to talk.

Today they decided to train together. One thing Hinata liked to do was spar with him, She remembered watching him train from a distance and wishing so badly to be able to ask him if she could join him. It was one thing to watch him and get her motivation from him, but to actually go one on one against him. It was amazing. Maybe not when he actually landed a hit in but to be able to train with some one who's skills you admired? It wasn't really something she could explain, but She loved it.

Naruto had thought that having a girlfriend would cause him to lessen his training so when Hinata started asking him to train with her he was all too happy to oblige. The girl was shy and timid, and always reluctant to hit someone, but when she did, It left a mark, an impression, and somewhat of a relieved feeling that she barley ever made physical contact when she fought due to her background.

"Has your clan ever considered giving it to Tsunade, I mean the security in the Hokage tower is pretty high." Naruto sat next to Hinata wincing as he touched his now bruised cheek, he secretly thought about hinata and Sakura fighting and wondered who would win, Sakura and her were probably about the same strength but sakura was good at dodging and hinata could see Chakra points. He decided in the long run it would be fifty-fifty.

Hinata shook her head negatively and started to twiddle her thumbs. "No, My father won't considerate it because there. . .might be traitors in the higher ranks who have access to the files. Like the Uchiha clan there are things that should be kept secret about my clan."

"Oh, you mean like the secrets of the Uchiha clans Sharingan?" the blonde asked, shifting closer to the girl.

The girl once again shook her head, but her hands stopped moving. "Well, actually I don't know.. . m-my father is the only one who's actually seen them so. . .not even Neji's seen them so it's a mystery to everyone . . . except father."

Naruto's eyes were slightly widened with curiosity and surprise. "You mean you never snuck a peak at them!"

"Of course not. . .I'm not allowed."

Naruto looked at her and could only grin. If that had been him, you could of bet that he would have done anything humanly possible to get a hold of that knowledge. She must of had a stronger will then him, but that was only one more quality to add to add to his 'lovable traits of Hinata' list and that was a long list. Everything from her modesty to determination and now her strong will.

He never thought he would be sitting down this close with Hinata and having a conversation were she wasn't red in the face spacing out or fainting. She was always that weird quiet girl that liked spy on him then avoid him like the plague.

Well he didn't know she was watching him with admiration till a few weeks ago, but that was beside the point. The point was the more he talked to her, the more wanted to be around her.

He wasn't as stupid as he use to be either. He knew he had an ever growing infatuated with Hinata. He also remembered Jiraiya trying to explain these types of feelings to him, saying it was completely unmanly and very dangerous.

However, Naruto knew better then to trust the old perverts words about women. The man might have been an expert one the female anatomy but when it came to the hearts of women and had proven that on many occasions, that he knew nothing.

Besides what harm could the girl possibly cause him, she wouldn't hurt anyone for anything.

Hinata looked at Naruto's grin and was truthfully curious as to what was going on in that head of his, but a more timid side of her thought it was better not to ask. So she just smiled back somewhat unsure.

The blonde looked up at the still grinning. " Hey Hinata? How many times do you think Sakura and the others have spied on us?"

Hinata looked away from Naruto and to the sky, wondering what he thought about when he looked up at it. "Not sure. They were there when we had our first real date"

))))))))))))0

"Move over I can't see anything!" With a force full shove Lee found himself face first on the ground and a sharp pain going through his hand

"Ow, Tenten your stepping on my fingers!" He shout pushing her off his injured limb.

The girl caught her self with one hand and pushed herself back up on both feet this time being sure not to step on his fingers. "Shut up lee or they'll hear you."

"I really don't think we should be spying on them. .."

"I told you. I'm not spying I just want to confirm what Neji said." she replied a bit spaced out as she parted a small bush and look out at the two figures.

"But we've seen them around the village, walking together a lot more often. Plus they've been eating out together"

"You mean you've seen it?" She pulled back from the small hole hearing her friend mumble a 'yes', She looked back out to the couple and pulled lee with her to look with her.

Her eyes held a dreamy look to them. Lee recognized it as the look she gave when she would daydream about her secret crush.

"Can you imagine How happy Hinata will be when Naruto asks her to marry him!" Tenten squealed excitedly, fidgeting from her spot on the ground.

"How do you know He'll ask her to marry him?"

The brunette gasped shocked before smacking at the boys head, missing as he ducked. "Don't say such things, Of course he'll ask, look at the way he watching her, He's totally in love!"

Lee peered out of the bushes to see what was happening. Hinata was smiling with a small blush and sure enough as the sky is blue, Naruto was looking at her with this certain gleam in his eyes. Lee himself couldn't identify the look, but he would trust his comrades deduction of the situation. After all his sensei once told him that women had a good intuition in the matters of love. "How Youthful!"

"Hmm. . .Lee I think We should head back now. I mean love birds need there privacy don't they?" She giggled, grabbing her friend and dragging him to there original destination to meet up with their team.

0000000000000000000000000

"Come on it would be easy enough to sn-" Naruto who had been trying to get the girl to take a look at the old scrolls, stopped talking and looked around suspiciously.

"I-is there something wrong, Naruto?" Hinata asked looking around as well trying to see what naruto was looking at.

"I though I heard Lee. . ." He said still looking around his eye's narrowed on a bush that seemed to be swaying without any wind.

"Lee?"

"Yeah. . .thought I Heard him yelling about youth. . ." Naruto shrugged after a moment and gave a toothy grin. "But you could probably hear him shouting from another village!"

Hinata hid a small laugh behind her hand. "N-naruto you should t-talk about people like that. . ." Hinata only started laughing again when Naruto stood up and started mimicking the taijutsu users poses.

Still laughing she reached up and took hold of his and pulled him back down to the ground.

Naruto sat there on his knees in front of her as the girl laughed. He smiled a rare, small and soft smile, leaning towards the girl who's laughter seemed to die down as she looked at him blushing.

Hinata's looked at him with wide eyes, he didn't seem to notice however as he just shifted closer to her. 'Is. . .he.. .he's going to. . .' Hinata thought, swallowing nervously.

The not-so-there blonde pulled back into his original position, still looking at her. "H-Hinata?"

The girl's blush deepened at the tone of his voice. He sounded like himself but different in a way, it could have been his nervous. Maybe it was just the way he was looking at her. Nobody had ever looked at her that way. Was there something only he could see. She also found that she couldn't look away from him, but like all the other times she didn't feel all that embarrassed, but she was slightly scared. What she was scared of she didn't really know.

The blonde swallowed a lump in his throat and once again leaned forward.

Hinata forced herself not to run and hide. 'He's getting closer. . .he's going to. . .' She felt her temperature shoot through the roof. 'No don't pass out! not now. . .he's so close. . .' she thought praying she didn't faint, especially since she could practically feel his breath.

"N-Narut-to?" 'So close . . .'

A loud noise and a puff of smoke alerted the couple to a new presence, and in a flash Naruto was back to sitting on his rear, and both facing away from each other.

"H-h-hello, N-Neji!" Hinata stuttered out nervously, quickly getting to her feet and bowing politely.

"Hey Neji, what's up!" Naruto said a little too loudly.

The older Hyuuga looked at them suspiciously before shoving his curiosity in the back of his mind. He handed over a scroll to Naruto before he spoke. "There was a brake in. The Clan's scrolls are gone. The Hokage wants us to follow them, we already have leads. . .Hinata, your father already went ahead, we are to follow immediately. You too Naruto, go get ready were meeting at the gates within fifteen minutes." Neji gave them both a nod before heading back to his home.

Sighing Naruto shoved the rolled up paper into his pocket. "Well guess we're on a mission. . .again" He said bitterly.

Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder. "At least we are going together, right?" she said trying to make him feel less upset.

Naruto took a hold of Hinata's hand and turned to face her, "Right!" He said smiling. Naruto was about to let go of the girls hand but suddenly tightened his grip. When she looked up questioningly His smile turned into a playful grin and before she knew it he leaned down quickly and placed a small light peck on the girls cheek.

Naruto turned around to run off, barely getting two steps away when he heard the sound of someone hit the ground. He stopped dead in his track and his shoulders slumped. He didn't need to turn back to know what happened, he just wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but one thing he was sure of was that, Neji was going to brutally kill him.

Sighing again he turned around and picked the small girl up. 'Maybe she'll wake up before I get there!' He thought hopefully as he took off.

--

After some self degrading thoughts, enduring a harsh lecture from the Young Hyuuga male and waking up Hinata, They made it out of the village about an hour later.

He looked over at Neji, who looked more calm then cautious. He knew Neji was confident in his skills and that he probably thought that he could win with little to no problems. But that was because of Neji's arrogant stature. It was part of his personality to be that sure of himself, but Hinata?

Looking over at Hinata Naruto took a second to observe her. Her giddiness from earlier had wore off and had been replaced by a more solemn and cautious demeanor. She looked completely devoid of any doubt. He wondered for a second if she was really as confident as she appeared or was she just determined to protect her families history.

He himself although confident that they would win wasn't so sure that they would make it in time. He hoped that they would make it before the enemy got to take a peak. However if they were able to read it what would happen?

Neji stopped suddenly jumping off the path and into the forest, Hinata and Naruto following Immediately. "From here on we are going to use the surrounding area to our advantage." He said pulling out a map and laying it on the ground. "I'm going to assume the enemy knows we are following them. In that case we need to move carefully. Hinata and I will take turns scouting ahead to preserve energy, Naruto because you don't have Byakugan your going to have to watch our movements carefully. We'll stay in the denser parts of the woods, until we hit the border."

Naruto nodded watching as Neji showed them the trail on the map that The Hyuuga leader had marked down earlier, apparently he had feeling on what was going to happen. "Hey Neji what would happen ti they actually looked at the scrolls?"

Neji shook his head. "I don't know, No one but Hiashi Knows what's on those papers. No one is aloud to look at them except the Head of the family."

"But why, I mean if it's a Hyuuga secret should at least his own daughter be aloud to look at it?" He asked confused.

Neji shook his head and rolled up the map putting it back in his bag. "I don't expect you to know how families like ours works, But I'll try to make it clear for you. Say Hinata read those scrolls then went on a mission. If she were captured and her mind infiltrated, then the contents of it would be revealed and the future of the Hyuuga clan would be in danger."

Neji and Hinata started walking ahead , Naruto followed, still confused. "Yeah I understand that but she's going to be the leader one day won't she, shouldn't she have the right to know?"

"This is hardly the time to be discussing such trivial matters. Why don't you try asking Hinata's father after we recover the scroll."

Naruto mimicked other boys sentence in a low nasally voice. After all those years Neji still acted like he was superior to everyone else.

Hinata placed a hand on Naruto shoulder. "It might not make much sense. . .but, It is nesscary for our clans survival. If these people read the scroll they could possibly learn how to counter attack our fighting style, then our skills on mission would be rendered useless. . . It wouldn't take long for information like that to spread."

"I understand that it's just the fact that it's not fair to fight for something you know nothing about, I hate missions like these. For all we know it could be some dark secret of your families history that they don't want to be let out. . .Not that I think your family did anything wrong! I just, I was. . .uh"

"Making a point?" Hinata suggested playfully, watching Naruto nod repetitively. "I know but Neji's right we shouldn't worry about that now we have to get that scroll back. It belongs to my family and I can't let the clans future be put at stake."

Naruto gave her a smile, She looked so confident right now. It was amazing.

"If you to love birds are finished with your little pep-talk Can we go now it's starting to rain. Mud and wet grass make for a poor fighting environment." Neji snapped irritation obvious in his voice and stance. "I told you we don't have time for pointless chatter now, let's go." He scolded and started moving.

Hinata bowed and moved ran off as well "Sorry!"

Naruto gave a half hearted glare before following after the two_._

* * *

_Yep there it is the almighty chapter twelve. . .I think it's twelve, somebody let me know if I'm wrong. The title of the chapter cmes from the fact that Naruto and Hinta are called love birds twice. . .actually I couldn't really think of a title so . . .lol yeah I actaully had the Idea to put in Tenten and Lee earlier on in the story but I wasn't too sure about it because I really don't know their characters well. and I've just started the next chapter so hopefully it'll be up later this week. I am determined to finish this story before adding any more. Think I can do it? lol. _

_later-_


	13. Saving The girl P1: Seperated

**_I'm so sorry, first I'm MIA for three months and put up a chapter, then I don't post up another for chapter for um. . .I'm not sure a month and a hal or so. . .I've lost track of the days. . .I'm a horrible person. . . but I have finally finished this chapter and I hope it can make up for the lack of updating. . .and it was hard for me to write cause first I din't even know what should happen next, then I was watching some movie and it hit me, What more cliche then the girl getting kidnapped? so Yes Hinata is kidnapped. I also Apologize for the lack of detail in the fighting, and the shortness in those peice as well. I was not in a...an agressive mood so It was a little hard to write. I'm sure you cantell where I'm actually trying and when I'm not trying. so yeah sorry. I'm going out of state for a few days so I'm not sure whe the next chapter will be out. . .hopefully really soon, But I promise it will not take any more then a month. so keep your fingers crossed for me._**

**_I hope this chapter amuses you for the time being anyway._**

**_disclaimer: . . .Do I really have to do this again?_ **

**Step 9 - Saving the Girl Part One - Seperated**

* * *

The room was almost completely pitch black on lit by the light the shown through the cracks in the door. Hinata looked around quickly for a way, but the only opening was a small narrow window the was halfway sealed off by bricks and a small slip of paper she could only guess was a trap. It didn't help that she was tied up.

She could see only one other person in the room, the shadowed figure of a small child no older then seven who had backed themselves into the corner when Mina had opened the door to throw her in. The child must have been frightened of the older girl to have backed away so quickly, But that also meant that they weren't tied up!

"Um. . .Excuse me" Hinata started to get the kids attention. She seen the small child look in her direction and gave a friendly smile. "Your hands are free right?"

The figure turned around fully, nodding they're head, "Y-yes"

Hinata listened to the timid voice, it was definitely a little girl. "Can you untie me, please?"

The girl bowed her head in apology. "I can't. she'll get mad. . ."

"B-but I. . .Never mind. . . I under stand." Hinata bowed her head as well. It wouldn't do her any good to beg the child, it would probably cause the child to start ignoring her completely. "Um can I ask why you're here. At least?"

The girls head came up again, surprised that the teen wasn't angry. "I-I'm not sure, Mina brought me here a while ago but never said why."

Hinata looked at the girl closely, she couldn't see her very well but they way she avoided eye contact and kept her head bowed , it seemed like she was afraid of making her upset. She offered a small smile to the child even though she knew she couldn't see. "What's your name?"

". . . Mina will get upset with me. . ." the girl didn't bow her head this time but instead turned to the side watching the shadows passed by as people walked threw the halls outside.

Hinata, looked at that shadows for a moment wondering who could've been out there, Mina probably. She looked at the door its self for a moment before giving the girl another smile. "It's okay." This wasn't good, if her only chance to escape wasn't going to help her, how would she get back to Naruto and the others?

"Why are you here?" the small girl asked Hinata, watching as the older female looked at her surprised. Did she say something wrong?

"I was on a mission, You see Mina stole something from my family and It's caused quite an amount of alarm for my Village." Hinata explained to the girl. Maybe if she befriended the girl, the girl would release her. But. . .she couldn't just use someone like that, It wasn't right.

"Oh, I'm sorry." the girl said, " I know Mina's not very nice, but. . ."

Hinata shook her head, "I know, It's fine."

The girl smiled and moved closer to Hinata, yet staying out of reach just in case. "um. . .I know it's not fair, but what's your Name?"

--

Naruto stood in a defensive position out in the middle of an open field. His jacket that now had varies rips and tears had been discard a while back, the rain had made it heavier then normal and the missing pieces of fabric gave little protection from the rain, It was only a hindrance now.

The blond shifted sliding his feet across the muddy earth and grabbing on to the foot that was aimed for his head. He pushed the foot up and aimed a kick of his own only to have his enemy repeat the same action, Instead Naruto used the lift to his advantage and flipped back to put some more distance between the two.

He could hear Neji and Sakura fighting their own enemies. Their grunts of pain seemed dull in comparison to the constant blows that were being exchanged with the enemy and himself. There was even a point in time where he was complete deaf to Sakura's warning shouts.

He was frustrated, worried, annoyed and feeling very, very Angry. He could only remember two other time that he was this angry. The first time was when His friend had left the village in a search for more power. The second was when the Akatsuki had killed Gaara. Now Hinata Had been Captured and He didn't know were she was. He didn't know if she was alive or dead. If she was fine or if they were interrogating her or forcing information out of her.

He had endless amounts of faith in her strength, but he was scared for Hinata and he was so angry at himself because it was his fault he couldn't blame anyone but himself he couldn't even blame the guy he was fighting with. He should have been more alert to what he was doing.

Originally it was him who was supposed to have been captured, but Hinata had gotten in between him and the abductor. In a flash she was gone and Neji had lost sight of his cousin. The man who was standing before him gave them the opportunity to get her back, if they stopped chasing after them.

Naruto didn't remember initiating the battle. He didn't remember anything until Sakura had showed up and saved him from being attacked from behind, and calling him a moron for not watching his back. Like he wasn't already hating himself.

He took a deep breath and ran at the man, His arm pulled back as he drew near. Just as he got him the man smirked getting ready for something, Naruto caught the look last minute and skidded to a stop.

The smirk turned into a grin. "What's wrong kid lose your nerve?"

"I don't know what your talking about"

"I guess it is hard to lose something you never had. . ."

Naruto glared at the man, it was obvious that he was trying to taunt him into an attack. The sad thing was it was starting to work, and that guy knew it.

The man smirk again, his stance relaxing into a pose of arrogance. "First you almost get killed and then your friend gets kidnapped from you ignorance. . .some ninja. . ."

"Where is Hinata." The blonde demanded.

Laughing the man started making his way over to Naruto grinning. "Now if I told you that, I'd get killed, that wouldn't be any fun…"

Naruto put one foot back to brace himself in case the man attacked. "Then I guess your going to die either way. " he snarled waiting for the guy to get close enough to attack.

"Mina's right you know, you two won't last."

The blonde blinked a few times at hearing the name, before he recognized the man. "You? Your that guy from the dinner party!

"How does a smart prudent little girl end up with such a volatile imbecile. She'd be better off getting married to some one of her own class, or perhaps someone who could actually protect her. . . " the man jeered, watching in amusement as his words seemed to have an effect on the younger boy.

Naruto growled viscously before leaping at the man, brutal attacks once again being exchanged.

--

"and fuzzy caterpillars, fireflies, lizards, oh and Horses. I had this one horse, I found him in the forest when it was still just a pony. He had been attacked , I convinced my father to bring it home and then me an mommy nursed it back to health. I played with him everyday, I named him Berenger."

"Sounds like a good name for him" Hinata commented smiling at the girl, who was now smiling back.

"Yep! He died living by that name, You see about a year ago, a bear wandered on to our property, and I was out playing with Berenger and the pony my older sister got for her birthday. The bear attacked us, Berenger had driven the bear off but, the wounds he got were deep, and even though we cleaned him up and everything they got infected."

"Sorry. . .for your loss." Hinata said quietly, "But At least you know he loved you, to defend you like that."

The girl nodded. And went silently for a while, her fingers skimming over the dusty floor, tracing small doodles into the floor. "My father once told me that, love, is infinite, that you could love some one so much that you wouldn't think twice about dying for them if it would save them. "

Hinata looked at the girl stunned . The child wasn't even twelve yet and she was already talking like a old woman who gave advice to her grandchildren some kind of advice for the future. Even though the small child might not know exactly what those words meant yet, Hinata had the feeling that the girl was catching on to the meaning faster then she should.

"that's why your trying to get out isn't it, because your friends are out there, in danger." the girl looked down to the floor again." I can tell your worried, they way you looked around the room every second, that's how mommy looked when she knew father was in trouble."

Hinata kept her eye's on the girl waiting patiently for the girl to continue. However the silence grew longer and longer until Hinata finally gave up and went back to thinking of an escape.

--

Naruto flew back as a foot connected to his side and sent him flying several feet away. He hit the ground with a small thud and rolled a few times before trying to stand up. He winced in pain as he got up, putting a hand to his side. Something was definitely cracked.

He looked over at the others, Neji had his opponent completely frustrated. The unknown man was obviously having a hard time trying to land a hit on the Hyuuga. A glance in the opposite direction gave him a glimpse of how Sakura was doing. He wasn't sure how she got or why she showed up, but he was thankful. Especially since she was keeping her opponent on his toes her chakra boosted punches that were starting to overwhelming him.

"If I where you kid I'd be a little more worried about myself, didn't you learn anything from earlier?" the man stated, laughing arrogantly at the child in front of him. His laughter was cut off by a kunai stabbing him in the shoulder.

"I don't need to be lectured by someone like you. " Naruto spat out, throwing another round o kunai straight a the mans chest.

The man jumped up to avoid the projectiles, but failed to register the blondes movement before he was sent flying back into a tree, the tree snapping in half under the pressure. Groaning he stood up and looked up just in time to block a punch that would have surely broken his nose if it connected. Another punch was thrown this time aiming for his stomach, he almost fully dodged it, but it ad still grazed him close enough to feel a slight sting but not enough to do any real damage.

Naruto gritted his teeth angrily. None of his attack were making any contact Mina's fiancé was putting all his energy into not getting hit and it was so infuriating. If he could just land one good hit, he knew he could take the guy out. It certainly didn't help when he guy jumped out of reach and attacked back with a long ranged chakra attack.

The chakra was shaped like little arrowheads and were shot out eleven at a time. It was tough to dodge them since the would turn slightly to follow Naruto before vanishing a few seconds later. Naruto waited for another attack, but sighed and slouched slightly when nothing came, his side was really starting to effect him.

"What's the matter brat, getting tired from a little bit of running. " the man asked, as he stood up straight like he was showing off how much energy he had left.

It didn't make any sense to Naruto. They both had been injured equally and he could tell the man was slightly worn out but Naruto felt like he wanted to pass out. "Ha! I'm not even close to done. " shaking off his tiredness, he ran straight for the man ducking down to avoid a punch aimed at this head and leapt up, ramming his head into the mans chin.

He heard a cracking noise and wondered for a second if maybe he broke something, but he could only hope he did watched the man fall back and clutch his jaw in pain. He walked over to the man and pulled him up by the front of his shirt. "You have more of a chance of staying alive if you tell me were Hinata is. "

The only response Naruto received was the man spitting a mixture of saliva and blood in his face.

--

Hinata had been sitting there for a while staring out the window with unfocused. At first the girl in the corner thought she had given up and was sulking but the older female had given a small hint of a smile

The little girl observed Hinata as she silently watched the rain fall from the dark grey clouds or how she seemingly listened to the rain hit the muddy earth. The older girl kept looking threw the window and the longer she stared the darker her eyes got.

The child sitting in the corner wasn't as wise as the words she told the girl earlier, but she wasn't blind.

It wasn't what the older girl was listening to, it was what she was listening for. She was listening for any sign of her friends. Hoping that they had found their way there to get her out of the pitch black room. "You really think they're going to come for you?" she asked quietly, as she moved to sit next to the female ninja.

Hinata jumped slightly at broken silence and sudden movement. "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening." She said looking over at the girl.

The girl shook her head and looked out threw the small window, it really was getting dark. "Never mind. Your friends what are they like." she asked curious about the people coming for her.

Hinata looked out the window thinking a moment before she spoke. "Well, all of my friends are very. . .different from each other. They argue with each other a lot but, they're always there when you need them. Their loyal and you can really depend on them if your in trouble. Almost all of them are always competing with someone."

"Yes but what about the ones that are coming to save you." She asked, it seemed that the girl had a lot of the friends.

"Oh, well. . ." Hinata stopped for a second not exactly sure who or how many people were coming for her. She wasn't really aware to how difficult the mission was from the outside. "Well I know Neji will be looking for me. Neji's my cousin, He's very. . .confident, we actually didn't get along when we were younger. He resented the fact that I was from the main branch in our family, and because I was so weak he thought I didn't deserve to be in the main branch. He's very talented in our families style, he always has been." Hinata said with a smile which faded quickly. "Although it's a little sad, he had taught himself almost everything he know. But it also makes me proud to be relates."

"I see, what about the others?"

"well the only one I'm sure will come looking for me is, Naruto."

"Naruto?"

The smile was back, and possibly even more happy then any other smile the girl seen on the konoichi . "Yes, He'll come for me. . .even if he's told not to"

The child gave a impish smile. "You like him. . ." she said teasingly, and laughed as Hinata's face started glowing. "Does he like you?"

"I-I. . .well he, um. . .that is we're date-dating, so I hope he. . ."

"But you said he'd come for you even if it was-"

"Y-yes but he would come for any of his friends." she said trying to regain her composure. She could have sworn that she was getting over this. She took a few calming breathes and ended up blushing again when she saw the look the girl was giving her. A look that told Hinata, that the little girl about Hinata's feelings for him. She looked away from the girl and back out the window trying to keep her blushing in control. "Yes I like him. . .we're dating or at least trying to. . .but I can't tell if this is going to work or not and. . .I don't know what he thinks. " why was she doing? Talking to a little girl about her love life, their were plenty of girls back home she could have talked to about this. "'I'm sorry. This isn't your problem. . .I shouldn't. . .

."

The girl shook her head. "No I asked, besides sometimes it's good to hear a strangers opinion. Besides, I can tell you it won't be easy. My parents would get frustrated when mommy was alive, because they barely had time together. You see my mom was an Anbu captain and a medic so she barley had time to be with father and me. When I was younger They seemed frustrated and sad all the time, some times dad would cry if mom was late coming home from a mission., but it got better as time passed. "

The Hyuuga heiress sighed and leaned her back against the dirty stone wall. "So you really think it will get better for us?" she asked and watched the girl nod. If her father could handle the fact that his wife was never around and always in danger, maybe Naruto and her could figure things out as well. "your father must have really loved your mother to go threw such a difficult relationship."

The little girl looked at Hinata blankly for a second before speaking. "Would you leave Naruto just because you hit a bump?"

"Never! I. . .I don't think I could ever even think about it, I've felt strongly about him for so long and to finally have him know this and actually ask me out, How could I possibly turn him away." Hinata started looking out the window again, spacing and watching the rain come down and started to drizzle inside to room and travel down the wall in tiny lines. " I mean I would like it if he was a little bit more. . .romantic but just to have him hold my hand or hug me the way he does, It's more then I ever hoped for. I don't think he completely understands that much about relationships or romance and things like that, but I don't think he has to."

Mimicking the older girls actions of leaning against the wall and looking out the window the smaller girl placed her hands behind her head and gave off a more arrogant posture the before. "why's that?"

"Because even if he's not the most romantic person, He's caring and thoughtful, and he's compassionate and . . ." Hinata started blushing again but she kept staring at the rain not even trying to hide it.

"As long as he tells you eventually that he loves you right?" the girl grinned watching the rain started to fall in patterns, becoming light one minute and heavy the next. "You know Hinata, those seals are just made out of paper and ink. . ."

Hinata's head turned to face the girl swiftly, trying to figure out what the girl was talking about. But the girl just kept grinning and staring at the window. Hinata followed her eyes suspiciously finally landing on the water the started coming threw the window.

--

Sakura and Neji had already took out there opponents and Stood their in the middle of the rain, stuck between wanting to kill there teammate and wanting to comfort him.

Thanks to the older males words, Naruto had ignored all reason and killed off the last ninja, there last source of information. The chances of them sending out more distractions were extremely slim, especially if the enemy knew that Leaf was out of clues to lead them to the scroll. So now they were back to square one, and minus two ninja.

Sakura sighed and started to make her way over to her frustrated friend "Naruto. . .W-"

"I know, I blew it!" Naruto snapped cutting Sakura off, "I just. . . We need to Keep moving, We have to find Hinata."

Naruto started to take off before Neji grabbed a hold of his arm. He ignore the boys glare and stood firm. "I don't think so Uzumaki. We need to get back to the village and inform the Hokage about our failure to retrieve the scroll."

"Dammit what about Hinata! Are you just going to leave her behind! " he yelled pulling his arm back. "She's your family aren't you worried at all!!"

Neji glared at the blonde before turning his back on him, "Sakura, I'm going to head back, will you take care of Naruto."

Sakura nodded at the Hyuuga watching him take off she put a comforting hand on Naruto shoulder. "Naruto I know your scared. You don't know were she is or her condition , but we need to smart about this. We don't know have anyway of finding out where she is and running around in unfamiliar territory in the rain will not help." Naruto looked at her from the corner of his eye, a hint of defiance lingering in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but she beat him to it.

"Naruto, Remember when Sasuke abandoned leaf to follow Orochimaru? Remember how I wanted to go with you guys when you went after him. I couldn't go. It wasn't just because Shikamaru didn't have time to somehow place me in there or that Lady Tsunade didn't assign me to go, cause I could have snuck out and went on my own. It was because I knew I wouldn't of been any help. . .and right now Naruto, aside from running around aimlessly looking for her what can you really do? "

Naruto turned around fully, his eyes still locked on to hers, "I. . .I . . .I could . . .Maybe. I just. . ."

Sakura gave him a sad but relieved smile, she knew he understood by the fear that had replaced his rebellious glared. He was getting more smart by the day. "Come on Naruto Lets head back. "

Naruto nodded . "Fine, and not that I'm not grateful or anything but why are you here. "

"Oh, Well Tsunade had found out who exactly stole the scroll and sent me out as an extra precaution. Those people that you told me about the ones at the Hugo's party, They had taken scroll. The girls boyfriend claimed to be in Anbu, but even though it was just his word and there was no proof. . ."

"Granny thought it couldn't hurt, right?" Naruto half asked finishing the explanation for her.. Shaking his head he picked up his shredded jacket, silently mourning over it's injured state, Before taking off Sakura right behind him.

Sakura followed after him predicting the outburst to come, and how their friends were going to have to keep them occupied until they found anything regarding this mission. Kiba would probably yell at Naruto for getting Hinata captured and her and shino would have to keep them separated for a while. Neji would probably avoid them for most of the time so he wouldn't be much of a problem. Looking up at the sky she noticed the rain was staring to let up, but it was starting to thunder. Sighing she looked back down, and stopped.

Where was Naruto?

* * *

Yep sorry if it seems rushed, If you haven't noticed I rush threw things alot. and I'm not sure How exactly the paper things work, I've actually forgotten what there called, so I called them seals, Please bare with me till I find out the name. or tell me what there called. as for the water thing like I said I'm not sure how they work but for the sake of Hinata escaping go with it. And serioulsy if I write something wrong or get something mixed up, don't hesitate to tell me.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter even if it's a little screwy. I thought it was anyways, but that might just have been the way I was rearanging things and writing. oh well. lol


	14. Saving The Girl P2: Through the Door

**_Ha! I have finished the chpater before three months! Sorry it doesn't have a better tiltle, but most of the chapters don't so yeah. I'm actually surprised a I got it up this soon. I was expecting my self to procratinate for another two weaks. lol. _**

**_Well Hope you enjoy!_**

**_Disclaimer: I Do NOT own Naruto._**

**Step 9 - Saving The Girl Part Two - Through The Door**

* * *

"Sakura!"

Sakura sprang up for her seat as the doors busted open and her teacher called out for her. "Over here!" She yelled threw the crowd throing an arm in the air to wave to her mentor. She had just gotten back and was surprised at how many people were in the hospital waiting room. It was like going shopping in the middle of the day with a big sale going on.

Tsunade spotted the girl in the crowded room and walked over to her. "Good your still here. We need to talk immediately." The older woman placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder to make sure she didn't go anywhere as she turned around. "Shizune! I'm leaving you in charge of this for a bit! Call in extra help if you need it." She turned back around and started walking forward, her hand dropping back to her side as she started to lead the way, her student walking behind her.

It was difficult to weave their way through the overrun hallways. Sakura was already gritting her teeth in frustration at being knocked around too many time. "Jeez! This is a hospital not gossip central! Either go to the waiting room or leave!" she shouted, scolding two girls who where just standing there talking and blocking the hall. The girls gave her an irritated look but left silently. "What's going on around here?"

Tsunade sighed dramatically. "There was an attack on the village. It happened only a few hours before you returned. We fought them off perfectly but there were a few wide ranged attacks and a few explosions, a few civilians were injured. So naturally there whole family comes to see how there doing. But the younger ones are just so. . .I don't know what to call it. They just think they can stand in the hallways and talk about there lives."

" You haven't yelled at them?"

"Too busy yelling at the curious children to be worried about the chatterbox teens." she said exasperated. It was painfully obvious that she was tired and exhausted from her job.

Sakura Gave her a worried look as she was once again bumped into. "I could come in and help out tomorrow. Would that help?"

Tsunade paused and shook her head negatively. "As much as it would help I think I have something of more importance for you. I'll be assigning a new team to find Hiashi, Hinata and Naruto after we talk. I want you to go with them. " Tsunade stopped by a door. "But first we need to discuss the situation so far. " She stated opening the door and letting Sakura in first.

The room was a normal looking office. A large wooden desk with a cushiony chair that matched two others. A shelf filled with medical books and supplies. On the desk were two pictures. There was an elderly couple who stood behind a younger couple, the young woman of the couple held a baby. The whole family had an arm around someone. Another picture on the other end of the table only portrayed the elderly woman. Obviously it was the older mans office. Sakura looked over at the older female curiously.

Tsunade caught the curious look and gave a sly smile. "My office isn't in really good condition at the moment, this is one of the medics offices. They were so kind as to lend me their office. " She said sitting in the chair behind the desk.

'That poor man' Sakura thought.

"Now, Sakura, start from when you arrived"

The pink hair girl nodded. "Well. When I got there Hiashi was already missing and they had already started fighting. Naruto wasn't really paying much attention, he was so angry. I tried to get his attention when some one was sneaking up behind him, but He didn't hear me. I started running for him but Hinata beat me to it, the enemy used some kind of chakra looking rope and Instead of it hitting Naruto It got Hinata. Then she was handed to someone. The person ran off and the guy blocked off Naruto's way . A few words were exchanged when Naruto tried to get her back but I couldn't hear." She explained, trying to remember anything of importance maybe a clue or something that would help find out where Hinata was.

Tsunade nodded and started writing, "What happened after that. You said Naruto disappeared."

"Right well after we beat them, Naruto wanted to go and try to find Hinata, but Neji and I thought it would be better to comeback here and report in. especially since we didn't have any leads. Neji went on ahead and I talked it through with Naruto. He said he agreed , but when we started on are way back. . .I looked away for one second and he was gone." Sakura sounded angry by the time she finished . Her arms crossed over her chest in irritation.

Tsunade remained silent as she finished writing. "At least we can safely assume he's looking for Hinata. But he's still putting himself in danger going alone. What's that brat thinking?" She said slamming her pen down. Taking up the same position as her apprentice, however her glare was a tad bid more fierce. 'I need a drink' She thought as she stood. "Well Sakura I suggest you head home and get some rest, you leave in a few hours. I send some one to get you ."

"Yes ma'am" She said standing up as well and heading out the door still glaring. 'Naruto dead when I find him.'

--

The young girl watched Hinata with a look of worry as the older girl struck the door repeatedly. She had been at it for a while now, ever since her ands got free. She hadn't moved from her position once, she was so determined to brake threw that door. However her chakra filled palms were hardly making a dent and the girl was getting tired.

"I don't think your going to get through the door. . ." the girl stated sadly, feeling sorry for the older girl.

The Hyuuga shook her head quickly and started wailing on the door more quickly, forcing more chakra out. She had to keep negative thoughts like that out of her head. She could do this she just needed more chakra. The gentle fist was supposed to be more of a defensive style, so without and extra boost did little damage to door sealed shut by chakra.

The girl grabbed one of Hinata's arms before it hit the door. She took a hold of Hinata's hands and brought it up so Hinata could see it. "Your hands are bleeding, your breathing becoming labored and you look exhausted. Your going to kill yourself acting like this. At least take a brake. . .rest a little. "

Hinata paused looking at the girl. She could hear the concern in her voice. She was worrying the girl she could tell, not just by the tone of voice but the look in her eyes. The look all kids get at one time or another, a scared look, not for herself but for another.

Hinata's arm dropped down to her side as she looked at the girl for the first time. She only slightly wondered when it got brighter in the room. The girl's face was mostly hidden under long tan hair and her green eyes held a timid gleam and were starting to tear up. Her posture was slightly akward since she sort of shrunk into herself in a protective manner.

Hinata had recognized that look right away. She saw it every time she looked in the mirror. The girl was almost the same way just a little bit more confident in herself then Hinata was.

Forgetting that her hands were bloody she took a hold of the girls hands in a reassuring gesture, and bent down to eye level. "I-I'm sorry I can't. I have to get out of here and finish the mission. Every second I stay locked in here the closer they get to opening that scroll and the closer Naruto and the others get to being hurt. I would be much calmer if I knew what was going on out there, but being here I can only assume they need my help." She said barley above a whisper, she couldn't bring herself to say it to loud. What if they really did need her help? And she was sitting in this cage doing nothing, what kind of friend would she have been then? What kind of girlfriend?

Blushing at the thought she stood up and took her position in front of the door. She took a deep breath and continued attacking the door. The girl tried to grab onto Hinata's arm again but the older girl swerved it to miss and made contact to the door.

"But. . . Hinata. . ." the girl said, her voice cracking.

"No! I can't give up!" she shouted hitting the door more fiercely, trying to ignore the child. She didn't want to make the girl cry. She felt bad for doing it but she didn't have a choice she had to get out of here one way or another.

The girl backed away from Hinata until she was against the was. She sighed heavily and slid down to sit on the went ground. All she could do was watched Hinata until the older female passed out or actually got though the door. Which ever came first.

Hopefully it was the latter. . .

--

A branch creaking under the pressure from a foot was something that comforted a ninja. It let the person know they had calculated the distance properly and landed safely on the branch. However snapping sound that followed was never a good sign and a ninja who had experienced this situation could tell you it was followed by pain. At least one ninja could anyway.

Naruto had calculated the distance just find but failed to take in the braches condition. Which was dry, old, dead and cracked. Obviously it had been over used. Wincing, he stood up and looked down at the branch and back up to the tree. Groaning, he jumped up onto a more sturdy branch. If the trees here had been jumped on before then maybe there was a chance he was going the right way.

Of course there could there was an even larger chance that maybe he was going the completely opposite way and the way he was heading was leading him some where completely unrelated to this mission. He took a moment to look around cautiously. He didn't have the power of the Byakugan or Sakura's extensive knowledge on Genjutsu so stumbling into someone's trap was a high possibility if he was careless. "But, I don't really have a choice. The only clue I have that could lead me to Hinata is the direction the kidnapper went in. . . I'm starting to regret killing that jerk." He said frustrated and started moving forward stopping every now and then too survey his surrounding and take note of anything suspicious.

A good while of time had passed before he came to an immediate halt.

There was smoke. A line of it that stuck out from the trees and traveled up high before it blended in with the clouds. It looked about fifteen yards ahead a bit off to his right. In a hurry he moved forward but stopped. He couldn't get a head of himself. He had to remember that there could be unsacred conflict if he attack the wrong people. Unnecessary injuries to join the ones he already had.

Of course he had been reckless in the past, jumping into fights on feelings alone not stopping to think about the consequences or the fact that he might rush straight into his own death. It had always been like a second nature to follow his instincts. What exactly made him stop and think now?

He couldn't tell you exactly, but it was some type of fear. Not the kind of fear one got when facing an opponent who was twice you strength and ten times more powerful. He'd been there and done that. No It was just some type of inner voice that was holding him back from thinking too rashly. Some kind of unheard whisper in the back of his mind telling him to be more submissive in his actions and it definitely wasn't the Kyuubi.

He took a deep breath and moved forward, slowly. As he got closer to the smoke a building started to show through the trees. It was wasn't like kind of building he had seen before. It was around the size of the Hokage's mansion, only a bit smaller. From what he could see it was divided into three sections, only connected by a narrow walkway that lead from one wing to another.

Once he felt he was close enough he stopped and knelt down one the branch to inspect the building. He couldn't name the materials it was made out of though, it wasn't made out of bricks or wood like he usually saw. It looked like a ceramic clay, but the coloring was a pinkish orange and white swirled like marble. Was it some kind of foreign material?

Naruto took a kunai out and held it for a minute trying to decide weather or not to actually throw it. If he did throw it, it could alert anyone inside. If that happened then how many people would he have to face? And what of there rankings, how strong would they be? On the other hand, if it didn't cause an up roar then what where the chances of Hinata being inside the strange place. If she wasn't there then how far away was she, was he going in the wrong direction or maybe she was nearby.

Naruto growled in frustration. How could one little course of action cause so many question. It was either going to cause a fight or it wasn't, either Hinata was in this alien place or she wasn't. that's al there was to it. Standing up with a bit more confidence then he actually had Naruto threw the Kunai straight into the building.

There was a tense moment as the projectile flew straight ahead, the blonde teens eyes trying to take in the whole scene, just incase he had to move quickly.

However all the tension faded when the metal object hit the building with an high pitched echoing noise, only to bounce of and land in the grass with a small thud.

That was odd. As hard as he threw it, it should have been able to go through steel.

The blond jumped out from his hiding place and made his way over to the place slowly, still looking for any signs of an ambush. He made it to his kunai in one piece and looked up were it should have went through. However there wasn't anything but a small barely noticeable dent. He took his fist and knocked on it experimentally.

"Solid?" He asked out loud, glancing around quickly. How could it have been solid there were doors and even though they were boarded up there were windows.

If there was only one door for each building how was he supposed to get in? there would definitely be someone inside if there wasn't any one outside. These people were too confident, so the must have had something up there sleeve. It wasn't safe but what other choice did he have?

He stuck close to the wall as he made his way to the door. The whole area creeped him out, it wasn't just the structure of the building or the fact that everything seemed to quite. It was just a chill that ran up his spine, warningly, telling him to turn around and run. That this place was dangerous, deadly. He was never too good at listening to those voiceless signs and the door was practically right in front of him.

Besides, That would not go over so well with Tsunade when explaining why he ran of to play hero and returned without the princess. He thought of just what he would say to.

"Oh right, well you see Granny, I went ignored Neji and Sakura's advice to go save Hinata, because I was scared for her. But you know when I got to the door I got this cold creepy chill up my spine and the whole surrounding area was just too freaky. So instead of going in to save Hinata I decided to be a pansy and run for it." he whispered the excuse to him self and snorted at it's stupidity. "Yep. They would definitely make me Hokage after that one. Who doesn't love a leader who's afraid of his own shadow." he mumbled sarcastically as stopped right next to the door.

He grabbed a hold of the doorknob the chill increasing. He shivered in fear and took a deep breath. "Hinata you better be some where in here." he said before pushing the door open, making sure to stay on guard.

The door creaked as it opened, the creaks echoing into the darkness of the entry way. The whole place was dark only small cracks in the boarded up window gave any source of light. It wasn't enough to show anything clearly but it was just enough to let him know where something was.

From what he could see there were small pillars that lined the walls. Something sat on top of each one, but he couldn't tell what they were. He walked down the narrow halway about seven feet before he bumped into something. Of course he jumped back immediately the kunai pulled back ready to throw. He strained his eyes trying to find out what he bumped into. It didn't work out to well, all he could see was another another pillar like stand. Naruto looked at it suspiciously and reached his hand out to it, feeling around on the surface.

Paper. He felt paper, a book of paper. He grabbed the book off the stand and brought it up close to his face trying to read what was written on it. He let out a frustrated sigh. "They need to invent a flashlight jutsu or something. This is ridiculous!" He held the book under his arm and moved around the stand and continued to bump into everything in the room. Chairs, tables, statues hutches with valuable glass, and vases that were probably one of a kind pieces art.

He was definitely going to look into that flashlight justsu.

--

The child was looking at the older girl in awe. The bright glowing chakra that surrounded Hinata's arms faded slowly as her arms fell to her sides. Hinata herself stood at the doorway, looking out into the dark hall. The door laid on the ground broken into pieces. She smiled relieved and took a step forward and fell.

The girl stood up quickly and ran to her side. "H-Hinata? Are you okay?"

Hinata struggled slightly, pushing herself up. "I. . .I'm fine. I'm just a little worn out, I used up too much chakra. " she said standing up using the wall to support herself. She had to keep going, she had to find the scroll and her friends. Or at least get out of this place. She looked down at the girl and saw the worried look again , she just smiled and started walking. "I'll be fine. Really. "

The child watched the girl walk another few steps before falling. "Hinata. . .Maybe I could go find your scroll and your friends and bring them to you. "

"No, I can do it! " She said quickly, getting up again. She couldn't put the girl through that much trouble. She had to help the girl not the other way around. She should get the girl out of here before she did anything else, but she didn't even know where she was. She looked over at the girl, didn't she say she knew Mina. Not directly but it was hinted right? "Do you know the way out?"

The girl walked over to Hinata and nodded. She started to help Hinata support herself. "I do. But it'll take a few minutes to get there."

"As long as we get out of here. " She said, silently accepting the help from the girl. "I need to find somewhere to hide until I regain some chakra."

The girl started leading her down the hall, trying to support Hinata the best she could. However being both small and weak, it didn't work out as well as she would have hoped. "Once we get out side I can take you to the caves. It's like a giant maze, it's really easy to get lost, but I've been going to them since I was four so I know my way around them. "

"Good we'll Hide out there for awhile. Then I'll come back for the scroll and you can stay-"

"No, You'd only get lost trying to find the scroll. This place is a lot bigger then it looks on the outside. Plus it might be hidden underground and if that's the case you'd die of starvation before getting out." The girls steps faultered slightly when Hinata's foot got caught on a piece of uplifted concrete, but she held the older girl up. "I'll help you find it, but you have to promise that you will wait till your fully rested before we come back."

Hinata leaned against the wall so the child didn't have to much of her wieght on her shoulder and to try and catch her breath. She was really worn out. It was difficult to take even one step. "I promise." she murmured, not really wanting to wait so long, but the girl was the only one who knew her way around here. "I'll wait till my chakra's fully restored before I come back, but you have to promise me that you won't try and do anything on your own."

The girl stopped and looked up at Hinata, a small guilty blush on her face. "What make you think that I would?" She asked curiously, trying to cover up her plan.

"It's the way look. I used to look that way a lot. When I was younger I wanted to prove that I was worthy of becoming a ninja, so I would do things others wouldn't think I would. I still try to prove my worth. But sometimes I think that it might not be worth it, because one wrong move and I'm back at where I started. " She took a moment to let go of the girl to test herself. She took one step and supported herself with one hand against the wall and started walking again, the girl right behind her arms out stretched just incase. "Most of it was because I wanted to prove myself to my friends and family. Then there was Naruto, I tried to show him what I could do but He always ended up saving me or trying to keep me motivated."

"I think, you've already proven yourself to everyone. . .I think it's just you who keeps seeing your flaws. Most people go threw that. My mother was always dissatisfied with herself even though my father thought she was perfect Everything from the way she cooked dinner to the way she threw a punch. Dad was always worried about her when she would go on missions because of that. She wouldn't come home until the mission was fully completed even if she got killed in the process. If she got injured even a little scratch she would over work herself training when she got back, because the fact that she got hit meant it didn't go perfectly. If it wasn't perfect she wasn't perfect." the girl explained grabbing onto Hinata's arm when she stumbled forward.

Standing up straight Hinata gently pushed the girl away. "Maybe. . .but you still haven't promised."

The girl gave a quick laugh and nodded her head once. "I promise."

They both continued walking, forward the girl leading the way. The girl looked back for a second before she spoke. "My. . .My name is Takara."

* * *

**I finally gave her name. Yay! I was getting tired of calling her girl, seemed kind of rude. Was this one was less rushed then the last chapter? Even a little?  
Well time for me to eat my dinner that was done two hours ago. . .I hate reheating food, the microwave just doesn't agree with me.**

**Later!**


	15. Saving The Girl Pt 3: Detective Naruto

**_Blah Blah Blah (instert more random nonsense here). . . .Sorry, I was going to finish off this chapter and put it up before my family came in but I procrastinated to long and once they got in I had to wait till they left on sunday. . .then I once again procrastinated, ended up with I migrain yesterday, and today I thought I should really finish this and post it before something else happened. So yup thanks to a bad luck and laziness combo here is the next chapter! Enjoy!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto._**

**Step 9 -Saving The Girl Part Three - Naruto the Detective**

* * *

"Alright For this mission there's no leader, I want you all to work together. We need to get those scrolls back and I would be most pleased if everyone came back in one piece."

"Are you telling me that I have to work with Haruno. . .again?! What did I do to deserve this?" Kiba complained mostly to himself then the others. He usually wasn't one to complain about things like this. He knew he shouldn't be especially if the Hokage herself was the one who got him out of bed at three am and told him he was need for a mission, but he couldn't help it. He was just so tired.

"Zip it chow breathe!" Sakura snapped at his comment before turning to her boss. "I thought you were going to get Neji too."

Tsunade nodded as she shuffled a few papers on the desk she had so kindly borrowed form another doctor, this time it was a new timid transfer from an allied village who was here to study there methods. "Neji has already headed out, He was sent ahead to scout for any traps, His mission specifically is to get the scrolls. Your top priority is to find Naruto, Hinata and her father. Then you are to continue with your original mission. Sakura I want you take some of the medical supplies from the hospital. We're not sure what condition they will be in. I want this mission to be a success. I want everyone back here alive."

"Right, Every Shinobi is a valuable asset to the village. Each having something unique to offer." the pink haired konoichi recited, remembering one of the encouraging phrases from a text book she read.

"Nice try but actually I was talking about getting Naruto back here so I can beat him unconscious. Here are some maps of the areas, If there's anything unusual make sure to mark it down."

"Excuse me, lady Tsunade." Shino spoke up for the first time, making Sakura jump a little. She had forgotten that he was even in the room. "wouldn't sending Anbu or infiltration team be more appropriate for this kind of mission?"

"I would but Most of the Anbu are on missions or tracking down the ones who attacked our village and an infiltration would take to long. We need as much security in the village as we can get right now so I can't afford to let anymore go." She sighed despairingly.

"Understood. We'll be on our way then." Without another word he turned and walked out Kiba following behind him.

Sakura bowed to Tsunade before running out of the room yelling something about needing to gather medical supplies before the left the hospital.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Both girls had crawled through small catacombs of tunnels and climbs up walls of rock to reach higher opening, and even at one point swam across a small stream of water. Takara had admitted to Hinata half way through their confusing trek that they were just making detours the whole time. That the direct path was considerably shorter, but she was trying to make it

difficult for anyone to follow them.

When the finally reached their destination Hinata slid down the rough wall of the cave, exhausted. They had been walking for a while now and the confusing twists and turns of the cave didn't help as she tired herself out mentally while trying to remember the directions. They had to have been at least a quarter of a mile into this cave and according to the younger girl there was still along ways to go to reach the other exist. However that wasn't their current objective.

They still had to collect the scroll and find the others. Sighing Hinata tried to shake the thoughts of the mission out of her head to relieve some of the mental stress.

Takara was kicking over a few old pieces of burnt wood and inspecting the old make-shift bed. Hinata watched the girl dart back and forth in the cave for nearly ten minutes when the younger girl finally stopped looked over at Hinata "I have to go get some wood to get a small fire going, it's already dark and it's only going to get colder."

". . .okay. . .Just be careful." She mumbled tiredly, she didn't have the energy or any reason other then the obvious to argue with the girl. She shifted slightly at the feeling of the jagged rocks on her back, but to sore to actually move away and sit up without the support.

The child gave the older girl a look of sympathy. She herself had been tired before but never to that extent it must have been awful to know that your life was in danger and you couldn't do much about it.

Hinata nodded tiredly, but as she looked over at the bed she made no effort to get up. It wasn't as if she didn't want to go over there and lay down, she was in the middle of only god knows where and she was on the verge of collapsing. How could she even think about being so ungrateful? It was just that with all that exerted energy, after she sat down she didn't want to get back up.

Besides she was a bit more worried about the girl going off alone. They weren't that far away from the place they escaped from so the girl could have been caught easily. If she was caught the situation would become more complicated , but it did get cold and she couldn't take anymore risks that could prevent her from recovering quickly.

The girl gave a small nod before darting back the way they came. Hinata watched the girl run out and waited a few minutes before she attempted to get up.

It had been at least a half hour since Takara had left and that ratty old bed was looking very inviting. Standing up shakily, Hinata stumbled her way towards the bed, loosing her footing after several feet and falling face first onto the hard floor of the cave. She cringed when she felt her jaw collide with a rock and her hands slide against small sharp pieces gravel.

She laid there for a second taking in a deep breath before she pushed her self up on to her knees and tried to stand up again. She succeeded in standing up only getting half way up when her legs gave out on her and she fell back down, managing to catch herself with her hands before she completely hit the ground.

Shifting she sat back on her knee's looking over at the bed. How hard was it to walk twenty feet in front of you? Surly she was capable of making it to the other side, she made it this far what was another ten. She set her mind to a more positive out look and pushed her self up with a little more force then last time.

She clenched her jaw when a sharp pain shot through her ankle. She tested it a bit, trying to figure out if it was just a twisted ankle or something worse. She slowly moved forward a couple steps and then sped up her pace before she could run out of energy and focus.

When she made it to the bed, she let her self fall, this time however her landing was soft and she smiled relieved. She could still walk on her ankle, that was a good sign.

She sighed closing her eyes and falling asleep, for now it was all she could do.

=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

In the past hour or so that he had been walking around, He had learned something in this place that maybe they should have talked him through back in the academy. Like how to feel your way around a dark mansion-like home that held one too many breakable objects that echoed loudly when they smashed the floor.

Naruto walked around the place with one hand on the wall and the other out in front of him slowly and carefully trying to feel his way around. It was a frustrating, it was time consuming, and it was just not right. He was a ninja, a warrior that worked in the in the shadows, behind the scenes, In the dark and relied purely on strength, stealth and vigilance. This was ridiculous.

And if his side didn't feel like someone was poking him repeatedly with a porcupine with red hot quills, it would have helped immensely.

A scuffing noise caused by the sudden stopping of shoes came from down the hall and made the boy halt in his own foot steps. Naruto's hand glided to his pouch on instinct and pulled out one of the many shuriken. He held it back waiting, hoping that the person didn't notice his presence.

However the other chakra spiked suddenly and the blond threw the weapon to prevent the attack. There was a flare of light as the chakra was formed into a dome surrounding the human target.

Naruto froze recognizing the technique. It was the rotation technique that only Hyuuga's used. Maybe Neji and Sakura came looking for him or the enemy read the scrolls and learned it. Hesitating for a second Naruto grabbed a couple more shuriken and threw them rushing in after them, his fist raised ready to strike.

The shuriken were reflected easily, his fist was caught in a whirl of chakra and he was thrown mercilessly into the wall. He stood up quickly and backed up a few steps. "Neji?"

"Naruto?"

Naruto's eyes widened at the voice. "H-Hiashi?" He asked nervously, somewhat hoping he was wrong. Unfortunately another flare of chakra told him otherwise as the older man activated his Byakugan. "Ha ha. Whoops. . ."He stated as let out a nervous laugh.

An irritated sigh came from the older man. "Where are the others?"

The blonds laughter died and he froze. He stood there for a few seconds before even attempting to speak. "Uh, well you see. . .there was an accident, well more of an error on my part. . ."

"Naruto what happened?" the older male asked in a harsh manner, wanting an answer quickly. He didn't have time to wait for excuses to formulate in the child's mind.

Naruto looked up at the Hyuuga leader a guilty expression breaking the sheepish one he was displaying earlier. He looked back down to the ground. "I wasn't paying attention to the others and I was being attacked from behind. . ." He trailed off for a second trying to find the courage to tell the threatening man the truth. "Hinata. . .she tried to protect me. . .She was stolen. . .but that's why I'm here I was looking for her!"

Hiashi wasn't sure if he should strangle the young man or not. It was the second time his daughter had gotten stolen while in his care, and this time it was his fault. Would he really be a bad person to go back on his agreement with Hinata and tell her she couldn't be with Naruto. Would it really make him that bad of a father?

The older male took a calming breath and turned away from the blonde, walking down the hall he came from.

Naruto followed after him. "Uh. . ."

"If you just came from that direction then there's nothing down there. There's another part of the mansion down this way that I haven't been to yet, the scrolls should be down that way."

The teen glared at the back of the older man. "What about Hinata? Or does she not matter."

"I could say the same for you. . ." the man shot back, looking over his shoulder to give the boy a glare of his own.

His steps faltered at the comment but he shook his head. "No you can't. I didn't know Hinata was going to get taken away. You on the other hand know your daughter in trouble and could care less!"

"Naruto the scrolls are-"

"Who cares about the stupid scrolls! Hinata's your daughter aren't you worried at all? What kind of father are you?!" He yelled angry, only getting more infuriated when he saw the older man giving him a sympathetic look.

The man sighed.. "I understand Naruto, But surely you understand as well. As much as I love my daughter, I need to get that scroll back. Hinata's life is no more important then anyone else's." he said turning back around to face the blond. "I can't tell you what in those scrolls but I will tell you that if they figure it out there will be a war, and our village might not make it."

Slowly Naruto nodded. He understood that, but he still didn't understand how you could put your own daughters life at risk. Even if it was for the sake of there home. The man could have at least showed a little bit of worry, or acted concerned. It would make Naruto a little more satisfied to know that the older man was afraid for his daughter. The man didn't look even slightly scared. It angered Naruto, It was like when Neji decided to follow Sakura back home instead of looking for his cousin.

Was it just him or did everyone think that a slip of paper was more important then a human life. Yes their home could be put into danger if the scroll was figured out. But that was a huge maybe. Would a true ninja really write something down that was so powerful that it was actually consider so dangerous that not even the Hokage could look at it , and make it so easy to put together? Yeah, sure it was easy to decode enemy traps and translate made up languages of other villages but, if their own leader ever even touched the paper how would something like that get around, nothing in the scroll could have a match to anything that was currently on file. So to him Hinata was his main priority. He just had to figure out how to get to her.

Maybe he could pull a disappearing act like he did with Sakura and take a different route. Surely there were secret door and passage the old man had found yet.

Would Hiashi even try to stop him? Even if he didn't would he tell Tsunade about it. The blond paused thinking back to when he slowed down his pace and broke off into another direction on his way back home with Sakura. The loud angry scream she let out when she cursed his name and threatened his life.

He was already in trouble so that didn't matter. Tsunade probably already got word of his renegade mission, so either way when he got back he was going to get in trouble.

Maybe he should just listen to the older man, Maybe it was best to just follow him get the scroll, then find Hinata.

He already knew he was overreacting, It was a habit he had always been aware of, but he had never been able to stop himself. It had gotten him in trouble so many times he couldn't remember how many time he got lectured by the teacher and his peers.

It was just in his nature to think about the here and now then worry about the future. He was currently worried about Hinata because Hinata was the one that was currently in trouble, and if the village ever put under attack he'd worry about that then.

However the scroll was with the enemy and didn't that in a way put everyone in danger now?

Naruto shook his had rapidly in frustration. The situation was getting to confusing. Maybe if he stayed with Sakura he could have asked her view on it. Even if he already knew her answer, of course she would have told him it was only right to take care of the main mission before taking care of his personal problems. She would also go on another one of her "A Proper Ninja" lectures and soon he would start tuning her out and nodding his head here and there to make her think he was listening.

"Naruto Keep up."

The stern voice mad Naruto's head snap up. It took a few seconds for him to notice that the older man was over twenty feet away from him. Shaking his head Naruto jogged to catch up, however his foot caught on something and once again found himself falling face first on the ground. 'there's one more line I can add to the tally sheet. Hinata's dad must think I'm a complete klutz.' He though with a blank look, taking in a deep to try and calm his nerves he stopped abruptly. He quickly pushed himself up onto all fours and brought his nose down to the ground were his face had been.

In some odd way him being down this close to the ground reminded him of one of those old detective novels that sat on library shelves collecting dust. The ones where they would get down as close as they could to the ground and look for clues that anyone else would have missed even if it was big enough for the world to see.

He sniffed at it carefully still think about the books. Had had this been a novel he would have at this point, felt around for the source of the smell stuck his finger in the substance brought it to his nose fore a quick smell and then placed it upon his tongue to confirm his theory.

His lungs filled with air and his nostrils filled with a metallic smell that he would recognize till the day he died.

How ever this wasn't a Mystery novel and Naruto had no vampire like urges what-so-ever. The metallic smell of it was enough to convince him that it was blood and the thick sticky feel of the slowly congealing liquid let him now that it was recent.

He stood up and felt around the walls, His hands at one point making contact with nothing.

"Hiashi. . .there's blood on the floor. . .and a hole in the wall."

Hiashi turned round to see what the nuisance of a teen was going on about. He looked at the gap in the wall that he had noticed earlier. "Someone broke down a door."

"But what about the blood o the floor?!" Naruto shouted pointing to it.

"That's the door, Naruto. The bloods probably from the desperate escape." He said trying to remain patient as he watched the boy walk into the room, hearing a few sounds as he bumped into thing a knocked them over. The Hyuuga leader closed his eyes and slowly opened them. Had this been anyone else he probably would have left him behind, the blondes curiosity was a hindrance in the mission, but Naruto was important to Hinata. Whether it was karma or some cruel joke his innocent daughter and the delinquent child were playing on him he didn't know. Although he would have much rather not be anywhere near him. "Hurry up we have something to take care of."

"Right, sorry!. . .uh?"

Hiashi watched as the blond walked out of the room holding onto something. "What do you have?" He asked.

Naruto stood still for a second before he held the bag out in front of him, not knowing where exactly the Hyuuga was. Hiashi grabbed the bag. He heard the clanging of metal and rustling from the bag. He opened it up and looked inside. "It's Hinata's shuriken. Judging by remains of the door, she had to have used a powerful attack." His voice trailed off wondering where his daughter got that kind of strength.

"Really?!" The boy asked excitedly, grinning. Then he seemed to have a quick mood swing when he frowned. "How do you know it's Hinata's?"

Hiashi opened his mouth, paused and closed it quickly. "Her name's in it."

"So that means she might still be alive right?!" He asked his excitement coming back, doubled.

The man looked down at the boy. "Yes. Now lets go." He said spinning on his feet quickly and continuing his search for the scroll listening to the blondes whispered shouts of joy. Gods forbid he tell the boy what was written in the bag. He himself knew he would never get the fancily drawn 'Hinata and Naruto' heart out of his mind.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Hinata's eyes snapped open at the soft footsteps that were accompanied by a high pitched scraping noise echoing of the cave walls. She jumped up ignoring the slight pain from her ankle. The rest of her was still slightly sore, but she couldn't ignore the way her hands burned. She held back her pained yell as she slipped into the shadows of the cave, activating her Byakugan. A figure was making it's way into the opening where Hinata had been.

* * *

Yes I am cruel I'm leaving it off there. I was hoping I could have Hinata and Naruto back in each others arms by now but I had a feeling if I did that this chapter it would completely rushed and make no sense. As for the naruto detective thing. . .I just watched Get Smart with My mom the other day and Had the theory that if Naruto were to go into that line of work he turned out the same way, or worse. Hard to tell. One more thing, Is it just me or do the chapters seem too short, please let me know let me know. Does anyone even read these? you know these little notes at the bottom? . . . oh well.


	16. Saving The Girl Pt 4: ? ? ?

**_Yay! The Next chapter! lol, Yeah this chapter didn't come out the way I originally planned but, oh well I think I like it this way better! lol Oh and sorry about the title I could think of one, probably because my room smells like a public restroom that nobody cleans. yeah my cousin let off a stink bomb in my room. I'll get him back though._**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto_ **

**Step Nine - Saving the Girl Part Four - ? ? ?**

* * *

There a woman stood, red choppy hair to her shoulders green eyes glowing like a cats. Had it not been for the height difference Hinata could have sworn it was Minna, but this woman was taller by at least seven inches. Her once elegant silver dress had seen better days and she seemed to have abandoned her shoes a long time ago.

". . .Takara. . .Your in trouble."

The voice was nothing like Minna's either. It was more low, dark, angry and drawled out. The scratching noised stopped as she reached the bed and removed her nails from the rocky walls. She slowly bent down feeling the bed, smiling when she found it was still warm. She looked around the room and smirked, her eyes landing on Hinata.

" . . .your in bad shape. . .such a pity. . .I was hoping for more of a struggle while I killed you. . ." The voice started with a happier tone and slowly took on a dangerously calm voice.

Hinata's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and fear. The older woman could see her, that was bad and she didn't know how strong she was either. Though the way the woman stood, the way she carried herself, Hinata could see that the woman was stronger then she looked. "Who are you!" her voce sounded less courageous then she wanted it to, she just couldn't seem to get that small trace of fear out of it. She watched as the woman walked closer to her, her feet gently touching the ground as she moved forward. Hinata side stepped away from the corner she was in, it wouldn't be good if she let herself get cornered.

The woman's soft and elegant way of closing in on her prey reminded her of a giant cat, swift and deadly. The Hyuuga girl went to reach for her kunai, and she inhaled sharply when she couldn't find her small pouch. A quick image of herself handing it to the small girl before she started on the door flashed through her mind. She silently degraded herself for such a rookie mistake. How could she have forgotten something so important.

The red-headed female was quickly closing in, grinning. "You look so scared. . .They always do. . ." she said completely ignoring the younger females question as her bony fingers curled into a fist her nails digging into her palms causing a small steady flow of blood. Though the amount of it was enough to think that the woman was hurt, her face didn't show any signs of pain. ". . .you can run if you like. . .it would make it more fun . . .for me anyway."

"I'll never run." Hinata stated bluntly getting into a defensive stance, readying herself for an attack."

The older woman's face turned sour. "Fine! If you can't entertain me with a chase I'll just have prolong your suffering while I tear you apart!" she yelled lunging at Hinata, swinging her fist.

Hinata dodged to the right, the enemy's fist grazing her face, Hinata felt the sharp pain and as soon as her feet hit the ground she jumped back again incase of a follow up attack. When she landed she seen the woman's foot being slowly moved back in place from the spot she had chose to embed it in, the spot where Hinata had been just seconds ago.

"My, my, what a smart girl." The woman muttered bitterly, running at her again.

Hinata stood straight getting into the same position and started blocking the hits and trying to find an opening to retaliate. She had to throw an attack of her own in soon if she kept defending she would run out of energy before she got to strike and wouldn't have any chance of escape. Gathering up all her strength Hinata blocked another punch pushing it aside and brought her hand forward aiming for one of the many chakra points. The woman moved to the side before the hit made contact and threw a punch of her own, Hinata ducked down barely missing it. However she didn't have time dodge the foot that hit her in the side and sent her crashing into the jagged cave wall.

Hinata quickly stood glaring at the woman and took the initial move, running to the woman. The woman's smirk grew wider as she swung her foot again., this time the hit didn't land. Hinata had jumped up, her chakra flaring in her feet as she kicked the woman in the jaw. The woman flew back, flipping sloppily in the air and landing haphazardly on all fours and sliding backwards a few feet. She didn't even wait till she was stable before charging forward.

Hinata quickly started working her chakra in her hands catching the woman's attacks. It was hard predicting the older females moves. There was no discipline or pattern in the woman's movements. It was like trying to keep up with a wild animal. It wasn't just punches she had to block, the woman was kicking just as rapidly as she threw her punches. She was using her speed and flexibility to it's fullest, turning in awkward angles and positions, making sure Hinata didn't have any time for a counter attack.

Finally Hinata blocked one last hit and moved back right as the woman, who had wound up in an arch with her hands on the ground, swung her leg up for a kick followed by her other. The Hyuuga girl didn't hesitate in taking her fist ad slamming it in the center of the woman's back. She could feel the spine crack under her hand.

The enemy yelled in pain as she was hit in the back and knocked off balance. The woman was once again thrown back, this time however she couldn't land, causing her to land on her side and roll across the ground.

Straightening her postured and looking around the younger girl tried to find an escape. She didn't want to run but she could feel her chakra draining fast. She could have easily ran into the tunnel on the left side, that way she didn't have to pass the woman who was struggling to get up. But then she would have a higher risk of getting lost or trapped at a dead end and the chances of the older female knowing her way around the rock maze was too high. Taking a deep breath Hinata ran forward, jumping over the woman on the ground. She almost touched ground when she was jerked back and slammed back down onto the ground, the woman hovering over her with a sneer.

The woman's face showed nothing but complete annoyance and he body flared with the chakra. "Such a pest!"

Pale eyes widened as the woman brought her fist back. The only thing Hinata could think of at while the fist was coming at her was Naruto and the next thing she knew her forehead flared in pain as it connected with her opponent's.

She hurriedly kicked the woman off and jumped up, kicking the older female one more time before switching back to the Hyuuga clans main fighting style and performing the traditional sixty-four palms.

Of course currently Hinata had the upper hand, but something about the woman worried her, a few things Hinata was noticing. For starters, the woman didn't seem to be losing the ability to us her chakra which should of happened the first time she had struck her. Another was that the woman who was now smirking while being struck didn't seem to be registering any type of pain. The last thing was that the woman seemed to a bit mentally unstable and seemed to be in her own little world as she stood there and took the hits with a half smile. There were just so many things wrong with this scene that Hinata couldn't piece together.

As the Hyuuga went in for the last strike it met with the woman's hand. Two opposing chakra's seemed to fuse together, however inside the mix the two chakras fought fiercely. The chakra's raged a short war for dominance, however neither succeeded and the result ending with an explosion that sent both people flying back into rocky walls.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Hey we got their scent. Their not too far ahead." Kiba informed the group watching Akamaru lift his head up from sniffing the ground.

Sakura gave a dramatic sigh. "Finally! Took you long enough." she half complained and half teased.

"What's that supposed to mean? would you like to get on all fours and start sniffing, cause I haven't seen you do anything yet!" He snapped, giving the girl a small glare.

"That's because my talents are in healing and fighting, not tracking. You on the other hand took way too long to track them down." She snapped back, not even bothering to glare and instead just crossed her arms in front of her, looking bored.

Kiba growled at the girl and opened his mouth to yell at her when Shino walked in between them, shutting Kiba up and blocking sakura from his line of sight. "What's your problem?" he barked at his friend, the silence making him regret the words shortly after. He rolled his eyes looking away from Shino completely and took up glaring at nothing in particular as he waited for his answer.

After Kiba seemed to calm down a little Shino looked at him. "We need to move before they get too far away. . .I'd rather not waste anymore time listening to you two bickering. " The bug user said quietly, hoping this would defuse the argument long enough to cover some ground before the sun was fully up .

"She started it." Kiba grumbled to himself starting to stomp off.

"Kiba, I don't care who started it. . ."

The teen looked back at the other male with an agitated smile. " Let me guess, you'll finish it."

"No I was simply stating that I don't care. I have no intentions of finishing anything except this mission. Now can we continue?" He asked calmly walking ahead of Kiba who stood there confused.

Kiba looked at his friend for a second before nodding slowly then shaking his a second after realizing Shino couldn't see him. When did Shino start asking?

Sakura looked between Kiba and Shino before stepping up next to Kiba and walking next to him. "Is Shino feeling okay?" she asked leaning in so she could whisper quietly without Shino hearing.

The boy was startled slightly be the girls sudden appearance next to him. "I don't know, Either he's really worried or he's sick. . . I don't know but he's definitely something. He just asked a question."

"You think he's that worried about Hinata and Naruto, or do you think our squabbling are really getting to him?" She asked. Trying to keep her voice down.

Kiba shrugged, he honestly didn't know what was wrong with his teammate. Usually when Shino asked a question it was to receive information. Other then that there was usually a command under that question that really didn't leave any room for options. Slowly his mouth spread into a fanged grin. " Maybe he's finally accepting the fact that I -"

"No Kiba, Your not. " Shino stated firmly cutting Sakura and Kiba's conversation short.

Kiba ignored Sakura's failed attempt at hidden laughter and glared at Shino's back. If the man could hear every word that was being said he could have spoken up earlier. Stupid bug freak.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Hiashi watched with irritation as the blonde boy raced ahead of him. He knew Naruto was excited Hinata was alive and was in a hurry to see her again, but couldn't he be a little more cautious while in the enemies territory? Not to mention the problem with him not being able to see in the dark. Maybe he shouldn't have let the boy know Hinata was alright.

No, then the boy wouldn't be focused at all on getting the scroll back. He heard Naruto stop for a second and drag his feet a bit before a loud crash of a door being kicked open made him inwardly cringe. He walked over to the broken door and looked into the room glaring at the boy. "Naruto, please remember where you are and what your doing."

Naruto looked back at the Hyuuga leader and grinned. "I know. We're looking for the scroll." He said letting the man know he didn't forget anything.

He walked around the room feeling around and trying to feel for the scroll. This had been the seventh room that Hiashi and himself had found, and it was the fifth room without light. A couple actually had small tiny window that let light through. He liked those rooms.

This room was completely cold, dark and empty.

"Yes Naruto we're looking for that, but there might be someone here and making such loud noises will alert them that we're here and neither of us is in any condition to fight."

Naruto crossed his arm defiantly . "What are you talking about I'm fine!"

"You've been grabbing your side a lot, plus your movements are slowing down. Your injured and exhausted and I'm not any better. " Hiashi said firmly, giving the boy a look o disapproval for denying his condition.

"fine, I feel like I'm going to pass out, but we really don't have a choice, We need to get the scrolls back and find Hinata. Beside's I don't think anyone's here. We've been walking around forever and we haven't been attacked yet."

Hiashi nodded silently to satisfy the younger male. However now that Naruto mentioned it, it was way too quiet. They hadn't been attacked, no one was following them and they hadn't even heard any noises coming from anywhere. Perhaps this was an abandoned base. They could have left when right after they stole the scroll.

No they had Hinata here so there had to have been someone here. . . Or maybe whoever was here had ran after Hinata when she escaped. From what Naruto told him there had been three people who had attack him outside and two of them were dead. So that left one person who would have had no choice but to chase after some one who knew where the hideout was, but if the last enemy was chasing after daughter was the scroll still here?

Should they leave and look for the enemy, or keep looking here? Even if they did catch the enemy what was the possibility that they had the scroll on them?

"Hey! Hey! I think I found something!" Naruto yelled waving a rolled up piece of paper in front of the mans face, much to the mans annoyance.

Taking the paper from the blonde he un rolled the paper and looked it over. He couldn't of been happier by what he was on it. It was a map of the building, a blueprint. It could have only made him happier if the paper told him which room the scrolls were in, however being a Shinobi he was taught not to hope for too much.

"Well, what is it?!"

Hiashi looked at the boy from over the top of the paper appearing more calm then he actually was. "It a blueprint of this place. According to this there are underground tunnels. Some of them don't even fit on this page. They probably have allies outside of this area. . ." there went his idea of there only being one person left.

Naruto froze for a second before yelling. "What?!" He blanched thinking about having even more places to look in. his side was killing him, his feet were getting sore and he felt like he was going to get sick then just when he thought he was almost done, Wham, even more things he had to do. "Ugh! The one time I need a brake and I can't get it."

Although he would have worded it differently the older man nodded in agreement. He might have been a little unsure of the boy, but that would stop him from having the same line of thoughts during this situation. "First let me go over everywhere we've been then we'll search the rest of this place." Hiashi said kneeling on the ground and spreading out the blueprints.

Naruto let himself drop on the ground and leaned against the wall, watching the older man go over the paper. "What if it's not up here? Are we really going to search the tunnels?"

"We don't have a choice. "

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Hinata grabbed the woman's shoulder and flipped her self over turning around as she hit the ground and for the second time slammed her hands into the woman's back. She could tell the woman was furious and in a way It made Hinata hopeful. If the woman was mad maybe it was because she was finding it difficult to defeat her.

The woman snarled and snatched younger girl's wrist and spun quickly on her heels and flung the girl across the cavern causing her to loose her footing. The girl stumbled a little before she caught her self on the wall, ducking quickly as the woman came at her with another punch. The impact made a loud noise.

Hinata ignored the sound in favor of swinging her palm upward and landing a blow on the jaw forcing her back a few feet. Taking a quick glance back she looked at the wall. Her eye's widening at the crater in the wall. It was no where near as big as the ones Sakura had made in the past but it was enough to finish her off if it hit.

She really had to run now. She couldn't dodge forever. She had to try to get out before she got killed. But how could she, she didn't have anything to cause a distraction, she had left her bag back at in that room. What could she do?

The red haired woman used the younger girls hesitation to her advantage and kicked the girls feet out from under her.

The fall knocked the air out of Hinata's lungs and she was having a hard time trying to get it back as the woman started kicking her around the cave floor. Every time Hinata would start to lift herself off the ground the woman would slam her foot into her back digging her heel in her spine with a low chuckle.

The woman smiled kicking the girl onto her back and pressing her foot against her throat, playing with the pressure she applied till deciding to make the girls face turn a nasty shade of purple. Laughing the woman removed her foot before the girl could pass out.

Hinata gasped, taking in air once the foot left her neck. The woman watched in amusement at the girls desperate attempt to breath. ". . .Pathetic. . ."

Hinata rolled onto her side to glare at the woman, "Your pathetic. Having to steals others abilities to gain power. . .you should train like everyone else!" She sat up on her knees as she tried to yell but, instead it came out in a hoarse raspy whisper.

The glared back at the girl. "What are you talking about. . . .?" She asked sounding arrogant and angry.

Hinata got to her feet slowly her eye's never leaving the older woman. "the scrolls you stole from my family!" she whispered harshly still finding it difficult to raise her voice. She flinched when the woman raised her hand.

However the was a pause when the woman had registered what the girl said, and she started chuckling again. "Those scrolls? Ha!. . . I have no use for them.. . . Stupid girl."

"But why. . ."

"You would have to ask my son-in-law, I'm just here for the fun." she said grinning and lashing out again.

Hinata grabbed the woman's hand. "Your insane." She stated bluntly binging her knee up into the woman's stomach, hearing the familiar coughing noise as she brought her lag up for the second time kicking the woman as hard as she could.

The woman flew back, however as she went back she grabbed onto Hinata's shirt pulling her along for the ride. As the hit the gound the rolled the older female ending up above of the Hyuuga girl. The woman immediately pinned her by the neck with one hand and started punching her with the other.

Hinata bit back a yell of pain as the fist repeatedly connected with her face, pausing once in a while to pull her head up and slam it back against the ground. She couldn't stand feeling the blood drip from her mouth and nose, and she could swear her face was going numb. She tried shoving the woman off but failed miserably. Kicking didn't seem to do anything but amuse the woman.

Finally as the woman paused Hinata got an idea, when she got up far enough, her hand shot up and she grabbed to fistfuls of hair. Cheap move? Yes, it was. But it worked didn't it? The woman growled at Hinata and tried in vain to untangled her hand out of her hair. Hinata took a deep breathe and yanked forward, she heard a sharp sound as their foreheads collided. The woman fell to the side grabbing her head in pain.

Hinata got up quickly and darted out of the cavern.

Okay so maybe it didn't turn out the way she planned, but at least she had a chance to get out now.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--==-==-=-=-=-

"Hey guys there's blood on the door. It's not that old either. " Kiba said as they stopped in front of the door, examining the smeared blood. He watched akamaru sniff at the ground before wandering away from the door a few feet and bark. "Neji and Naruto's scent stops here but Hinata's goes farther off that way. . .It's probably Hinata's blood on the door. "

Sakura looked around the area, taking in every detail. Where could Hinata have gone. There wasn't really any where to hide. The woods were very dense and could hide someone decently if they knew what they were doing, but it wouldn't work forever. There were also caves, but they were to big and someone could easily get lost. "So what should we do? If the blood is Hinata's then she's obviously injured and most likely in danger. And we can't be to sure of Hiashi and Naruto's condition. However if Neji's in there then Naruto already has someone with him, and Its highly possible that Hinat's fathers in there as well. I think we should go after Hinata, then come back for Naruto. " she said quickly. She knew Naruto could handle himself when it came down to actual fighting. He had proven that on too many occasions. But Hinata was already hurt, and if she was in danger it could be bad. "Shino?" she looked at him for an opinion.

It took him a few seconds of think be fore he answered. "We should split up. Kiba and You can go after Hinata. I'll go and look for the other two in here. When your done, we'll meet back here."

Kiba looked at them bored. He already figured he wouldn't get a say in who went where. All three of them were put together on the same team for a reason and while Kiba himself was blessed with common sense and average intelligence, he wasn't Smart like Sakura and he wasn't as calm as shino. Besides, it made sense one of them would go and check on the others inside while him and Sakura went after Hinata. "Alright. Fine I'll go Sakura but Take Akamaru with you. He should be able to lead you to Naruto and the others."

"Will you be Okay without him" Shino asked looking over at the oversized dog.

"Come on shino I've worked with out him before and came out completely unharmed, besides I got the future Tsunade with me, I'll be fine." Kiba said with a smirk. He might not have gotten along with Sakura but he did respect her skills as a Ninja.

Sakura glared at Kiba from the corner of her eyes, but decided to take the remark as a compliment. ". . .Alright, but If one of us is back before the otheer should we go look for the other group?"

"Yes, but only if your well enough to fight."

They all gave there own versions of agreement before taking off in they're separate directions.

* * *

**And that was the famous chapter. . .what is this? 15 now?. . .Yeah there's still about nine more chapters to go. . .probably more if I keep braking them up like this. but like I said before, I will finish this story! Um I know there are a few of you who keep up with this story and I would like to thank you for your patience with my laziness and what not and I wanted to let you all know ahead of time, That I do plan to have the next chapter up next month but if it's any later It's because my mothers birthday is coming up and she wants to go out of state to visit family and I don't know how long we will be up there, so yeah, That would be why. times like these make me sad that I lack a laptop, specially because I'm going to be bored out of my mind over there. But there's always paper and pen and with that comes cramped hands!  
**

**Well Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and all those other sayings I can't remember, lol!**


	17. Saving The Girl Pt 5: Struggle

**_Yes, depending on your personal prefrence in reading in might be a little on the short side but I wanted to post something up after my absence. let me know if It seemed rushed. I really can't tell because I'm really tired right now. I actually got sick while we were away and I'm extremely tired. My nose is so stuffy that I can't breathe, and when I go to bed I have to breathe and do you know what that means? It means that I wake up constantly because of drool. Yes when I'm sick, I drool when I sleep and I'm positive that you don't have to be a snob to find it a little disgusting waking up on a wet drool filled pillow._**

**_But enough with my disgusting drool problem, just let me know if it's too rushed and I will trying slowing it down next chapter. _**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. _**

**Step Nine - Saving the Girl Part Five - Struggle**

* * *

Takara made her way through the tunnels, disarming bombs and avoiding traps that had been laid. While the hideout above ground was new the tunnel were not and she knew her way around the them by heart.

She knew she wasn't supposed to comeback here. She had told her that she wouldn't, but the older girl wouldn't be able to comeback any time soon and she knew that she would be stubborn and comeback anyway, whether she was fully recovered or not. She was never good at keeping promises anyway, plus she didn't want to risk her new friends life. With the tunnels connecting from one village to the other, it wouldn't to difficult for her to run into someone she wouldn't be able to hold her own against in her condition.

The girl took a rock from the ground and threw it on the ground a few feet in front of her. She watched as different types of small weapons flew out of the walls, making loud noise as the clashed into each other and the walls. She had to duck quickly as one ricocheted off another projectile and nearly hit her. When she was sure they stopped coming out she took a few steps back and ran forward, jumping over an invisible obstacle. She landed harshly and winced as she fell.

Picking her self up she sighed in relief, reminding herself to work on her jumping when this was over. She walked over to a large rock and with much difficulty pushed it aside revealing a large hole in the wall. She walked into the passage. She turned around and double checked to see if anyone was following her before she moved the rock back in place and then broke back out into a run.

=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=

Naruto was holding up the best he could. However he was having a hard time keeping his current pace and with each step the pain in his legs would double and he would had to clench his jaw shut so he didn't yell in pain. The wound on his side had already gone numb from the pain, or maybe it was just because the pain from walking had over powered it, either way Naruto didn't care, He just wanted to make sure Hinata was okay.

The older man wasn't fooled by the blondes silence. He knew there was something wrong with Naruto. Earlier he had thought it was the boys exhaustion catching up to him, but Naruto was clearly in pain. He had already stopped running by the time they reached the underground, and now he wasn't even talking. He wasn't even complaining about the pain, which only meant that the boy was trying to hide it. He wanted to say something about it, but there was no point. The boy would just deny it, put a fake smile on and keep going forward. Either that or he would run off on his own and he would have to pay an unwanted game of hide and seek. Other then that Naruto couldn't see that well in the dark so there was no way he'd be able to read a map and Hiashi himself couldn't afford to waste his energy going all the way back and then try to continue his search without the teen, he would be drained by the time he got Naruto back to the village. So he would only turn back if Naruto either collapsed or spoke up.

"Hey there's two paths which one are we taking?"

The man looked at the blonde who spoke, he could hear the boy breathing becoming labored. That was never a good sign. "We're taking the one on the left. The other paths a dead end. "

Naruto nodded and started walking again. The pain was starting to become unbearable, it was spreading from his legs to his whole body. even breathing was starting to hurt, and he was a little nauseas. He had been in pain before but, he never felt like this from fighting. It felt like he had the flu, but it was accompanied by too much pain. Maybe he was getting sick.

He looked back at the older man. He couldn't see his face but he had the feeling that the older man was looking at him. He probably could tell something was wrong, but decide not to comment on it. For that Naruto was thankful. Even if he would have liked to slow down or even stop to rest, he couldn't, they had a job to do, and he told Hinata they would get the scroll back and he couldn't go back now. Not after all this. He'd get those scrolls back if it killed him.

He just hoped Hinata was doing okay. He knew that there was a chance that she could be alive because she had escaped the room, but she could have just as easily been recaptured and if he wanted to get pessimistic. . . she could be dead. He shook his head, He really had to stop thinking like that. If he didn't he might starting doubting his friends abilities to find her, and could start doubting Hinata's strength as well.

Naruto paused when He felt the ground start moving, he looked around in the darkness, listened closer and realized the spot he had just stepped on was about to collapse. He tried to move his legs back, but he apparently took to long reacting because he felt Hiashi yanking him back into safety.

Hiashi looked down the hole and saw an already rotting body laying at the bottom. He went to lean forward to get a better view but didn't get any further when bars shot across the surface like a cage door. The older man stood straight and looked at the blonde haired teen. "Naruto didn't you feel the ground move. "

Naruto shook his head as he stepped away from the hole. "No, I was a little spaced out." He said looking down. Of course he had felt the ground move, he just didn't move as quickly as he should have. but how was he supposed to explain that to the older man. The Hyuuga would definitely make them turn back. No matter what the circumstances, He would have been forced to turn back because, if his reactions were delayed it could get them into trouble if the ran into anyone. He would just have to work twice as hard then he normally did and he would be fine. Then maybe the other male would focus on something else other then his condition.

The Hyuuga man looked at the teen carefully. Maybe he should take a few minutes to rethink the situation with. If Naruto was in worse shape then he looked, they might not have a choice but to turn around and go back. He wasn't sure how long the tunnels were or where they lead, and the farther in the higher the chances got for them to be attacked. The way Naruto was now. . .he wasn't to sure how the boy would be able to fight. But if those scrolls. . .the whole village could be in danger. He was sure that the Hokage would send another team on a retrieval mission, but could he be sure that they wouldn't try to peek inside. It was like putting a piece of candy in front of a child and expecting them not to touch it. But the boy in front of him needed attention.

He had to make a decision and He had to make one quick. Of course he wanted his family to be safe again. He wanted everyone in the village to be safe again, but to ensure their safety they had to take back what was stolen. If anything happened to Naruto, that would only be one life versus thousands of others, and what would they lose? Aside from the fact that the young blonde was strong and had a lot of potential, he was just another ninja on the team. The loss would be tragedy there were people in the village who had grown found of the boy but, it was always a possibility for a ninja to leave on a mission and not return.

However, it was unwise as a responsible adult to ignore the signs of the boys condition. It also wasn't good to rule out the crisis in waiting. If he went back now there was very high chance that he would never see that scroll again and that the village would be under attack within the next few days. On the other hand, if he ignored Naruto's injuries got back with the scroll, Naruto could die before they even got the scroll.

"Hurry up old man, your not even injured and your walking slower then me!"

Hiashi looked at the boy who was using a look of impatience to over up the pain. The small fact that the boy was hiding it was enough for the older man to want to yell at the child. "Sorry, I was thinking about the situation."

"What? It's been hours and your just now thinking about the mission?!" he shouted at the man, making it clear to the other that he had no idea what he was really talking about.

"Not exactly." Hiashi replied, avoiding giving the boy a real answer. He was unwilling to let the boy know his real thoughts, it would just cause the boy to get angry and possibly run off. The boy was stubborn and determined, which wasn't a good combination right now.

Confused and a little frustrated with the answer Naruto thought about it. It didn't take long for his blue eyes to light up and look at the other male again. "Are you thinking about Hinata?"

Hiashi looked at the boy, keeping a calm face up and falling silent again. No he hadn't. he thought about her well being and hoped for the best, but he never thought about her opinion on his current train of thought. Surely his daughter would be more worried about the blond then a small scroll, but would she rather save him or the people of the village.

She had told him she wanted to get the scrolls back to protect there people. Now that the blond was injured she would want him to go back to the village and get medical attention. However, the blonde had come all this way and because he was so devoted, stubborn and too eager to help she wouldn't have the power to speak up or take him back force. Naruto wouldn't give up because he wanted Hinata to be happy and he knew that having those scrolls safe again would make her happy.

Both of them were unwilling to step up or in Naruto's case step down, because they wanted the other to be happy. But if Naruto died Hinata would be devastated and it would be the same for Naruto if anything happened to her. Resisting the urged shake his head in disapproval Hiashi made up his mind.

Why couldn't his daughter like some one with more of a reasonable, less stubborn state of mind?

He walked up behind the blond silently, He knew the boy wouldn't be happy when he woke up, but what other choice did her have. His hand stopped just as it had been brought up. The blond had went completely still and swayed before falling onto the stone floor. Naruto had fainted.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Hinata jumped out of the way and watched as another crater was made into the ground.

She had made it out of the cave without any trouble, but it was long before the woman had caught up with her. She was thankful that there were so many trees, it made it harder for the woman follow her. However she wasn't to fond of her growing headache and the dirt that clung to her raw hands was making them burn.

As soon as she landed she started running again, darting in different direction and ducking behind trees trying to confuse the woman. It wasn't working as well as she wanted it to. The woman didn't seem confused, just irritated and a result she just knocked down any tree that was in the way. It wasn't looking to good for her, she needed to think of something. But what could she do, she couldn't gather enough chakra for an attack and she didn't have any sort of weapon. There wasn't very much to work with other then the forest it's self and she barely could run. She turned sharply hiding behind a few trees that were clustered together and took cover as they became victims of the older woman anger. Hinata stood and began to run again.

"You can't keep this up much longer, your out of chakra and a bet by now your legs are about to give in. Maybe if you stop running I won't kill as slow as I was planning before, but don't count a quick death, I have to have some fun after all."

Hinata didn't know whether she wanted to cry or laugh at the offer. Did the woman really expect her to just hand herself over? She wasn't the crazy was she? The woman could at least lie, not that she would hand herself over either way. Maybe if she got far enough away form the woman she could find somewhere to hide until the woman was out of range. But how could she get away from the woman if she was right behind her?

Another tree was smashed followed by a boulder and still the younger girl couldn't get the older crazy one to slow down. She started running again what was she going to do. She had to find a way to defeat this woman, find the scroll, get back to her friend and father. How was she supposed to accomplish that if she was completely drained.

Hinata's thoughts had distracted her and it took a few seconds for her to register the absence of footsteps behind her. She stopped and looked around. The woman was gone. Maybe now she could find a place to hide. No, there was no way she could have lost her , the woman was too fast. She was hiding, waiting for her to let her guard down.

Standing still, she waited for a sign of movement, any kind of noise. She looked around, hoping to spot the woman before she attacked. She started to panic when smoke started filling the air. She had lost one of the two things she had left to defend herself. She heard a couple loud explosions, she instantly suspected they where to cover up the noise of the woman's movements, and she wasn't wrong.

She felt a fist dig into her side pushing against her ribs. She grabbed the wrist and tried to push the fist off her side, but she didn't have anything left, she coughed up a little blood, and she didn't have to look at her enemy to know she was smiling. Another punch connected, then a kick and she flew into a tree.

She could hear the woman laughing at her calling her pathetic, talking about how painful and long her death would be, mocking her own personal vows to never run and never giving up in a high pitched squeak. The woman kept going on and on. The insults, degrading remarks

Ignoring her pain she tried to pick herself up off the ground. She got onto all fours and reached out to a nearby object to support her self. Before she could touch she scream as something was practically impaled into her shoulder.

She felt a foot kick her onto the ground and roll her onto her back. She knew the lady was standing over her the kunai ready to come down again.

Without thinking she kicked as hard as she could, it was a blessing and a mistake all in one. The blessing was she actually hit the woman knocking her off balance. However the kunai was now lodged into her leg. Hinata got up quickly and yanked the weapon out of her leg without a second thought. She held in front of her in a small attempt of defense.

Were was the woman now? Was she hiding again? What was her next move going to be? Even more questions ran through Hinata's mind but every answer was a negative one. Every answer ended up with her being hurt, she knew she shouldn't have been standing right now. She was running on pure adrenaline and willpower.

But she wasn't sure if that would be enough to get her out of this mess. She had no chakra, no real energy, Her hands were in painfully bad shape, se was sure if she wasn't in a life threatening situation she would be crying. Plus her only weapon was the small barely useful Kunai clutched in her burning hands and she couldn't see.

None of that added up for a successful victory. . .

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sakura was following behind Kiba, she was a little confused about what was going on, He didn't have Akamaru but He was running around like he knew where he was going. "Hey, Kiba, do you even know where your going?" She called out to him.

Kiba looked back at her with a grin. "My nose might not be as good as Akamaru's but I can pick up Hinata's scent. We just have to hurry before it starts to fade. If that Happens we'll have to turn back."

"What do you mean? " She asked as he sniffed around the air. If they weren't on a mission she could have laughed at him and remarked on his behavior. She wondered if Hinata ever laughed at him before.

"A scent usually doesn't last any more then a few days outside, I'll only be able to pick up Hinata's scent for a few more hours. If we don't find her by the time it fades I'll have to use Akamaru to track her down. There's two other scents but I can't tell if it's an enemy or not." He explained as he followed Hinata's scent. He worried about his friend, He didn't smell much blood but the fact that he smelled any blood was worrying him. "She has to be close by the scent is stronger around here."

"Really can you tell how far away?" the pink haired girl asked.

"No, but we should be able to find her soon, just keep your guard up. "

Sakura did as Kiba said and started looking around more intently then she had before. However it was hard to get a good view of the area, she could barley see past all the trees and plants, let alone look for anything out of the ordinary. What should she be looking for, traps, illusions, people? Or tree's. . . falling over?

Both Kiba and Sakura stopped and took their time watching a few trees fall over, followed by a few more loud crashes. Sakura looked over at the boy a frightened expression was clear on her face. "You don't think. . ."

Another loud sound, an all too familiar scream and Sakura didn't get a response. Kiba had ran off even before the scream had stopped, running faster then she remembered him being able to. . The pink haired female ran after him finding it difficult to catch up to him, but she was able to keep a close eye on him with ease.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Shino calmly followed Akamaru, letting the giant canine lead the way. He was a bit worried because the dog would whimper every so often and he unlike Kiba he couldn't understand Akamaru. A small part of him wished that Kiba was here so he could ask him what Akamaru was picking up from the scents, from there he would be able to think of a plan. Being teammates and friends with Kiba for years might have allowed him to pick upon a few things about Akamaru but there were many more things only an Inuzuka could understand about their canine counterparts through their strong bonds. The Aburame supposed it was the same way with his clan and there insects, but he had high doubts that Kiba understood anything about them.

Akamaru whimpered again as he stopped and sniffed the ground. Shino could only guess by the whimpering that it was a bad sign. Suddenly the dog ears moved, the canine tilted his head and barked. Shino was once again stuck on what the dog was trying to say. He hated not knowing something. Sure he was a calm person. He never showed any more emotion then he had to, and mostly he hid his personal feeling. But just because you can't see something doesn't mean it's not there. And right now He felt frustrated, angry and so much irritation that it should have been lethal.

But, on the outside he stayed calm, collected, and focused on his task. Because, he wasn't a teen dealing with all those lovely phases that normally comes with becoming an adult, He was a Ninja.

So he held back a frustrated sigh and just waited for Akamaru to move, which didn't take long. It only took two seconds for him to dart off, not even seeing if the bug user was following. He was positive that Akamaru knew he would follow, but would it kill him to make sure. Then again Kiba was the same way. . .but did Kiba get the behavior from Akamaru or was it vise versa? How many habit's could the two have picked up from one another.

On second thought Maybe it was better left unknown.

* * *

_**Not a great title but, at least this chapter had a title. . .actually I'm just not good with titles. I think this chaper seems very unfinished. . .but there really wasn't anything more I could add to it without shortening the next chapter. . .If I was on the other end of this story as a reader I would be a little frustrated with the chapter getting cut off when I knew there was more to it, but like I said it wouldn't leave enough for then next chapter.**_

_**also sorry for hinata not having very many big scenes, It difficult for me to write out her fight scenes because I've haven't scene her fight much. I also have a hard time writing her out as a ing fights because I'm use to writing her as her timid shy self, and when she fights she has more confidence, I'm just not sure about how to have her think when she's fighting. I think I've done okay so far but still. . .**_

_**one more thing I'm sorry About is having Naruto and Hiashi hogging up the chapters. I am trying to slowly build up an understanding between the two. I'm not sure how hinata's father feels about Naruto, whether he thinks he's a good kid or a demon. I'm pretty sure the mans has a mix of thoughts about it, like the Naruto's a good kid but he's worried about the fox taking over and worrying more about the fox destroying the village and not worrying about Naruto's well being. Then adding his own daughter falling for an 'unstable' person, he get's the whole my daughters dating thing and he get's protective, but I don't think It calls for them taking up all of the space. Did anyone understand that? let me know.**_

_**Well before I continue rambling about everything I think I'm going to go replay KH2 and then take some medicine and hopefully get some more sleep. Wish me luck!**_


	18. Saving The Girl Pt 6: Luck

**_Hello! I tried to put this up like a week ago but I kept getting a page that said the Login wasn't availiable or some crap like that, did anyone else have this problem? Anyway. . .Yeah I'm usually hyper and awake when I write these little ranty thing and right now I'm tired it's 4:34am, my normal bedtime was about six hours ago, plus I'm a little sad that I didn't finish this chapter with the date that I set for myslef, I'm so lazy. _**

**_But read on! _**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto._**

**Step Nine - Saving The Girl Part Six - Luck**

* * *

Takara made her way through the tunnel at a good set pace. She held her hands to her chest, her fingers wrapped around a small bag in a vice like grip. She hoped she could find her way back out before anyone found her.

She smiled to her self as she saw the path getting smaller. Soon she was forced to crawl on the ground and it wasn't long before she was crawling on the ground holding back screams of fear as cave dwelling bugs crawled over her hands and coughing from breathing in small particles of dirt. No matter how many times she had escaped through these secret passages, her lungs would never get used to the dirt.

When the ground started leading her upwards she moved the bag to hold it between her teeth as she saw another boulder up ahead. She stood on her knees as much as she could, which wasn't much since the tunnel was low to the ground. She ignored the rocks the pressed against her upper back as started to push on the boulder.

Maybe it was time to widen the tunnels a little. Or shrink down to the size of a four year old.

Which ever happened first.

The first thing that register in the young girls mind as she started pushing the overgrown rock aside was that it felt a lot lighter then it looked. The second thing that swam across her mind was that it seemed to be moving fast then she wanted it to. Confused, Takara paused and stopped all movement.

The rock didn't.

The bag still clenched between her teeth , She narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she started trying to pull the rock back in place. She had gotten too far to be caught already. However, her will out matched her brawn, and she cursed her physical weakness as the stone moved in it original direction.

She shut her eyes tight and fell low to the floor covering her head with her arms. To the girl, who hadn't even hit her tenth birthday, it seemed like a childish and very illogical thing to do. Like when a child hears a noise in there bedroom at night and hides under the covers believe the saying 'what you can't see can't hurt you'. Takara, however knew better, but it didn't stop her from closing her eyes and wishing it was true.

The rock finally stopped and there was a silence, she her something scrapping against the ground, she felt a warm gust of breath sweep over her and a more scrapping. There was a whimpering sound as something cold and wet started pushing on her arm.

Another wave of confusion made her crack her eyes open and slowly look up. Immediately she screamed dropping the bag and started backing up without a second thought. The dog mimicked the child's act, his head tilted, curiously. The dog backed up even more when someone walked in front of the entrance and kneeled down to look inside.

Takara didn't know what was scarier, the giant beast of a dog or a man peering inside, looking like a secret agent . Maybe it was the just long coat and dark glasses that gave him the look.

The man stayed quiet for a minute, just kneeling there. He didn't even move an inch.

Takara tried to look threatening, but she doubted she looked to threatening to the older person. Not that she'd be able to tell since practically his whole face was covered. The man was still quiet. Whether he was making a decision or waiting for her to speak she didn't know.

They had gotten into somewhat of a staring contest. Each waiting for the other to move. On the side Akamaru sat waiting for some kind of order.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Kiba was the first to witness the scene, so naturally he was the first to react. Without a second thought he tackled the woman head on, earning himself a knee in his stomach and a fist on the side of his face.

Sakura hadn't had time to see what was going on, she was a few seconds late on her arrival, she took one look at the scene and decided to tend to Hinata. She ran over to the girl trying to exam her and keep her guard up at the same time incase the enemy decide to attack. The girls hands were bloody and raw, a couple layers of skin had been torn up. She also took a look at Hinata's stab wounds, one in her shoulder, one on her leg and one on her chest. Sakura guessed by the location the woman had been aiming for Hinata's heart. Even though she hadn't hit it, It had only been a few centimeters off and it was still deep, so it was still a big concern. Another concern was the blood on Hinata's head, it wasn't a lot but the amount of it wasn't an issue, just the fact that it was coming from her head. "Hinata's is anything else bothering you?"

Hinata didn't answer the other girl, she was too busy watching Kiba who was having a difficult time attacking the woman without his other half being there to support him. In the back of her mind she was curious were the his loyal companion was, but she was more focused on the woman, lashing out at the boy and flinging him into the surrounding obstacles. She winced when she felt Sakura grab her hands and began to heal them. She seen Kiba tackle the woman again they rolled on the ground swinging at each other trying to do as much damage possible.

The woman landed on top and went to strike again. Kiba grabbed her wrist and shoved her back, trying to keep her pinned down. It was al he could do, His attacks didn't seem to bother her and she was so aggressive and quick that he couldn't keep up with her. Maybe if Akamaru was here they could keep her pinned down. Another strike came at him hitting him in the nose. He jumped back a hand held against it, trying to stop the bleeding.

The pink haired girl wasn't even half way done with Hinata's hands when they pulled back. "Hinata I-"

" . . . I'll be fine, please help Kiba."

Sakura looked back at Kiba who wasn't doing so well on his own, she was hesitant about leaving Hinata by herself with her injuries, but Kiba was having a bit of trouble getting to the woman. She looked back at Hinata who was just looking at her pleadingly. Sakura knew she shouldn't leave someone in Hinata's state by themselves but she ended up nodding anyway. "Alright, but do not move." She order strictly before getting up to go help Kiba.

She ran to the woman quickly dodging a punch, she noticed the woman's hand had chakra around it. This had Sakura a little nervous but relieved. She was nervous about weather or not she'd be able to dodge every blow, but she was relieved that it didn't measure up to her own power.

Stepping to the side she avoided another hit and responded with one of her own. She watched the woman clutch her stomach with one hand and flip onto the other and bring her foot down. Sakura backed up a few steps watching the woman's foot crash into the ground forming a small but wide hole.

The woman didn't even give a warning as she quickly pushed herself up so she was standing again and started attack rapidly. The older female managed to finally get a hit in, causing the younger girl to fall back. Even as Sakura hit the ground the woman didn't let up. She started kicking her around, lifting the girl up by her hair only for her to send her back to the ground.

As the woman grabbed a hold of her hair again, Sakura grabbed the older females hands bringing them down as she rolled on to her back and kicked the woman over her. The woman let go of the girls hair so she could catch her self, but she never did hit the ground. Kiba had once again tackled the woman, but this time he didn't stay around long enough for the woman to retaliate, he jumped back and landed by Sakura.

Kiba looked at Sakura, who was rubbing a spot on her head. "You okay?" He asked as he shifted his gaze to the woman who was slowly getting back up.

"Aside from the chunk of hair she ripped out, I'm fine." She assured him as she stood up completely. "How about you."

Kiba gave her a cocky grin. "Like I'd loose to this hag."

The girl gave him a stern look. "Kiba don't start acting tough. We're not even in this woman's league."

"C'mon, she's not that strong."

"What? Have you already forgotten how she almost killed you within five minutes." She shot at him, watching him look away at the painful blow to his pride.

However he wasn't about to give up that easily. So what if this woman had out ranked him in almost every field, It was him and Sakura versus her. The woman couldn't last that longer could she. . .Or maybe she was more powerful then she lead on.

If he laid out all the facts, With muscle, Kiba and Sakura combined definitely had her beat. Sakura had more brain, then himself, but the woman's intelligence had yet to be calculated. Kiba was pretty quick and had great offensive abilities, Sakura was excellent with dodging, chakra control and had plenty of medical knowledge. Kiba's attacks were limited because his partner wasn't with him, and while his taijutsu was great, the woman's flexibility and seemingly endless stamina gave her the advantage.

So, If he had limited attacks and his hand to hand wasn't going to make contact half the time he was, as Sakura had said, not in this woman's league. However Sakura's ability to dodge and her skills as a medic could give them a slight advantage if the managed to get in some good counter attacks.

Then again, there was most likely more to this woman then they were currently thinking. If that were the case, they'd have to get that information. And there was only one way to do that.

So either way they had to fight.

Great.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Neji had the misfortune of running into Hiashi who was carrying a very unconscious Naruto, okay so maybe it was a good thing he ran into the man, but the thing that made this a misfortune was that he had the wonderful honor of carrying him for the older Hyuuga.

He knew the blonde was in pain, but carrying the boy was like carrying a baby. They squirmed and wriggle like they were trying to escape the arms but if you put them down they would cry. In this case there was only one difference, Naruto wouldn't cry.

He could hear the boys teeth grinding together, and he could feel the quick episodes were the body tense and start to shiver. The blonde had his sympathy but, He'd much rather be carrying a bomb that was motion sensitive. Sure it was a little over the top, but Neji had to run with the constant fear of dropping the boy who kept moving unexpectedly.

He should have been looking for the scrolls. That was his original mission, the others were supposed to be focusing on finding their friends. Instead he got pulled into holding the boy, which the old man could have been doing. Maybe Neji was just growing to soft, He remember a time were he would have just ignored the blonde's agony and his uncle's words and continued his mission without a second thought.

But the blonde in his arms was proof enough that those day's were long behind him, He could even consider this boy a friend, and with Hinata possibly, part of his family. Maybe that's how he got pulled into this.

Family, Camaraderie, Love.

Thinking back on what his mind had just lead to, maybe all those years of being trained and mentored by Might Guy finally caused a small portion of himself to snap. . .

Still there was no way he was going to shout out about 'Burning youth' or what ever his old sensei liked to yell his head off about. It always has been and always will be, undignified and just down right embarrassing.

Neji stopped, hearing something. A mumbled voice and shouting. It sounded like Shino.

Maybe a little bit of. . .investigating was in order.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Takara looked at the older man. He hadn't moved for quite some time. He could have been one of Hinata's friends but there was an equal chance he was from another group entirely. And she wasn't talking unless she was dead certain about who he was.

She tapped her fingers on the dirt in thought. A normal habit of hers, but something seemed out of place this time. She looked down at her hand, confused. She slowed down the pace, taping one finger at a time, counting three seconds before putting the next finger down. She remembered having something when she was crawling around earlier. She was to panicked to remember what was missing.

She heard a noise coming from the man and jumped in fear. Quickly looking back at him, she watched him wave a bag in front of her.

It took a few seconds for her mind to register what he was holding. She lunged at him her fears forgotten. They resurfaced however when the man dropped the bag and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the tunnel.

"Let go, Let go!" She started yelling repeating it over and over, starting to kick him and using her other hand to try and pry his off. It wasn't having any effect on the man, who just stood there as if he was bored.

Shino let the child wear herself out, taking note of how many times she kicked him and how many scratches he would have on his hand later. "What's your name."

The girl glared up at him, her hand paused from it's clawing. "Mommy says I'm not allowed to talk to strangers."

The comment seemed normal, coming from a small child not even ten years old. She looked believable enough, her eye's showing fear that she covered with anger, her actions were like a frightened animal, ready to bolt in the opposite direction if he let go. So why wasn't he believing her? More importantly, why was there a child in a place like this to begin with. "Name." He demanded looking down at her.

". . .Kayla"

"Your lying." he called her lie without hesitation.

"I already told you I'm not giving you my name, now let go!" she yelled again kicking him again. "let go, let go, let go" The chant started up again, the kicking coming back with twice as much strength then before. Still the man was unaffected.

Shino watched the girl not amused at her stubbornness, he really didn't have time for it.

"What's going on? Are you bullying a child?"

The little girl stopped her kicking to look over at the new voice. Great now there were two interferences.

Shino looked over hearing Neji's voice, ". . . I found her crawling out of a tunnel carrying a bag. It's obvious she knows her way around, could be useful." Shino explained to the other ninja pointing to the bag on the floor. Him, a bully? He was the one who was going to have bruises on his shins.

Neji sat Naruto down next to Akamaru who started sniffing at the blond, whimpering when the boy let out a pained noise. He walked over to the bag and picked it up, only giving a very small amount of attention to the girl who started struggling again.

"Don't touch that, it's not yours!"

The Hyuuga ignored her opening the bag and emptying it out into his other hand. He looked at it for a minute taking in the feel of the paper rolled into a cylinder and sealed with the Hyuuga symbol. "Where did you get this?" He asked, glaring at her.

The girl stepped back, looked off to the side and completely ignored him.

"I asked you a question!" he yelled at her, stepping up to her.

Takara backed up further behind Shino, who loosened his grip on her arm. "Don't yell at me, jerk!"

Neji put the scroll back in the bag and put the bag in his pocket it was obvious he wasn't getting any information out of the child. He knew a child like her couldn't have stolen it, but the girl must have known who had the scroll first.

Takara hadn't felt this frustrated since her mother left on her last mission . She was captured the was stolen. . .or maybe had been repossessed she wasn't sure which, but mst importantly Hinata was still out there defenseless and probably worried about her. She was only supposed to be getting firewood. That meant Hinata was cold too. The season was starting to change and it was getting colder out. Depending on the time of day the girl could catch hypothermia. What could she do?

She could give them her name, ask for their's and hope that their on the right side. The they could go save Hinata, return the scroll and everything could be fine again. Or she could ask for their name and hope that they not be on the wrong side give her the names she wants to hear, trick her and everything end in total chaos. Well her mother always said being a ninja was, ten percent instinct, ten percent skill, twenty percent will power luck and sixty percent luck. And if she was ever going to be a ninja now would be a good time to start testing that theory out.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the man who had caught her first. "T-Takara"

Both of them looked at her, curios about her change of attitude. Nodding to each other they introduced themselves.

". . .Shino Aburame" the man said hesitantly, cautiously, releasing his grip on the girl. "I apologize for frightening you."

Neji just looked at the girl for a while before giving his name. "Neji Hyuuga." he said quickly turning his back on her and heading back for Naruto.

Takara watched Neji, turn his back and felt the urge to throw something at him. He seemed to take pride in his hair, maybe a few wads of gum would reduce his high and mighty attitude.

And no she wasn't feeling guilty about judging the man so harshly, or thinking about revenge.

"Are you going to tell us why you were down here?" Shino asked looking down at her.

"Why shou-. . ." She stopped herself. If she was trying to find out who they were and help them, it wouldn't do any good to act so bratty. Sighing, she shook her head. "It's a long story but. . .I came back here to get that scroll. . .for a friend. . .She helped me get out of here. "

Neji who now held Naruto looked back at the girl. Was the child talking about Hinata or another female. But why would Hinata tell a small child to risk her life? It didn't sound like something Hinata would do. "Your friend told you to put yourself in danger. . "

"No!, I. . .we were hiding out in the caves and I told her I was going to go get some things to make a fire. . .she told me not to. But she was in such bad condition that. . .she should be recovering for a few days not a couple of hours. . .She was determined to get it back she said her family would be in danger if anyone figured it out." Takara told them the short version of the story. That was all they needed to know, the little details weren't important. "Could I please have it back I really need to help my friend. I- I haven't begged since I was four, but I will if you promise to give me the scroll back."

Neji, looked down at the girl, with an exhausted look. "How about you show us where Hinata is instead. "

". . ."

The girl was really to suspicious of people for her age. She couldn't have been no older then ten. "I'm Hinata's cousin . . . and Shino is one member of the team she's on."

"So you came looking for her? "

"No my mission was to recover what was stolen then if necessary help them." He explained as quickly as he could.

Takara gave him a sad, started to speak , but stopped. Neji raised an eyebrow, questioningly. She smiled and shook her head. "Never mind, it's . . . not important. . . " She said slowly, walking back to the rock to block off the small passage. "I don't think you guys fitting in there, were going to have to take the older tunnels that lead above ground. . .is your dog afraid of loud noises?"

Shino gave a quick glance to Akamaru and back to the Takara. "No, why?"

Takara looked at the dog, disbelieving but she nodded anyway. "The path are dangerous, their unstable. We stopped using them a while ago because a few of them collapsed. Rocks fall from the ceiling often. You're going to have to be very careful."

"You've used them before haven't you." Neji asked looking down at the girl, watching her nod. "Can't say I'm surprised." this child was either constantly, desperately trying to find a way out, or she was completely reckless. Either way it was bad for the girl. Attempted escapes meant she was trying to run from something and, taking risk like walking in unpredictable tunnels meant high chances of an early death.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The woman was once again in the process of trying to kill Kiba. Kiba had been doing a good job fighting on the defense. But the woman managed to land a hit knocking the male a good distance away. The woman ran after him, she didn't plan on him getting back up this time.

Sakura had just about enough of the woman's jeering and ignoring her, she ran towards Kiba as well . The woman seemed to have taken on a thing for beating on Kiba, and only attacking Sakura when necessary. It was irritating.

Sakura jumped in front of Kiba and caught the woman fist in her hand. She quickly retaliated with her own punch, watching with a smirk as the woman flew back. Sakura could have sworn she just hit a new record in distance. That would teach the woman to ignore her.

She only made a small note of Kiba's mumbling as he stood up.

"We need to find a quick way to take her down. I mean really quick."

Shaking her head negatively she looked over at Hinata. " I don't think that'll work, We've been fighting for a while now. With the both of us on her she should at least be having troubles keeping up with us. I've been landing punches that would shatter bones and I know your not holding back. Plus it's obvious that Hinata's fought with her."

"What are you getting at, Haruno."

"I think we might need to retreat."

"What? I'm not backing down!" He yelled at her.

"This woman's a little out of our rank, and every second that we waste fighting, is another second Hinata. . .Hinata's lost a lot of blood and right now her open wound are extremely vulnerable to infection. We got to get her back home." The pink haired girl yelled at him, reminding him of his injured friend.

Kiba looked over at Hinata, watching as the girl struggled to keep her eyes open. Suddenly he felt stuck, he didn't know what to do. He didn't want Hinata to get into anymore trouble but they couldn't abandon this fight, the woman would just follow them. Maybe he could divert her attention. "Alright, then you get Hinata I'll stay behind, If we both go she'll just follow us and we can't just let her follow us back to the village."

"No. If you stay here by yourself your going to get killed. "

"Hey, I can take care of myself just fine."

"Kiba this is not the time to feed your ego or try to look tough. " she half scolded, half warned the other. "Not that it would work, I already seen your face get smashed into the ground." She added, reminding him of his earlier experience. "Besides are mission was to find the others. We've found Hinata and I'm sure The other have found Naruto and Hiashi by now. "

"She's going to follow us, we can't lead her back to the village. "

Kiba had a point Sakura knew that, but she couldn't leave Kiba by himself and Hinata wasn't in great condition. Sakura was great at healing but, Hinata was too worried about Kiba to let her do her job. "We don't have a choice, if we stay and fight her we're all going to get killed."

"Fine distract her and I'll grab Hinata"

Sakura didn't need to be told twice, she attacked the woman without a second thought. The older female was infuriating, dodging, blocking and moving every which way. Was this how Gaara felt when he fought with Lee, dizzy frustrated? No, not even lee was this annoying.

Sakura blocked a kick and counter with punch. Her fist missed when the woman ducked and swept Sakura's feet out from under her. Getting up quickly, Sakura had to dodge a series of blows, before she heard Kiba yell for her. She gathered up her chakra and aimed at the woman's face. It made a direct hit, but felt a pain in her stomach and pressure on her rib cage. she watched the woman's head twist almost completely around before the woman soared a good distance. She didn't stick around to watch the woman land, Ignoring the pain she turned and started running.

"You nearly took her head off, How much energy did you use." Kiba asked as he came up behind her. "And you could have gave me a heads up before you took off. "

Sakura shook her head, "like I needed to, besides I want to get as much of a head start as I can, I don't think that attack did anything more then stun for a minute, which is more then I actually hoped for. . ." She admitted, looking over at Kiba then shifted her eye's two Hinata who was on Kiba's back resting her head on his shoulder. "Hinata how are you feeling?"

The girl didn't even pick up her head but turned it to face The other. "I'-I'm not sure, the wounds were she stabbed me a-are hurting worse then normal. Like there burning. . .and I'm so tired. . ."

"Hinata you know you shouldn't fall asleep." she said her worried look turning into a stern one. Hinata looked at and nodded picking her head up . "Good, If you get any worse let me know." Another nod, Sakura was satisfied. Working with her was easier then working with Naruto, who would have been stubborn and pigheaded the whole time. She once again returned her attention to Kiba. "let's pick up the pace, I want to get her home before the sun goes down. "

"You know we're going to get sent back out here right?" Kiba asked her as they started speeding up.

Sakura smirked and started struggling to keep up with Kiba's speed. "Yeah, but we would have came back whether she sent us or not"

"That's true."

Hinata looked back and forth between the two of them, smiling. She was still worried about Naruto But at least there were others worried about him two, others who were in a much better state to be looking for him. Although she wouldn't be completely at ease until he was back home and safe.

* * *

I know Neji and Shino are out of character but, I really didn't know how they would react to a child appearing in the middle of a mission. Looking at neji he doesn't seem to be a child person. I just kind of wanted to experiment with the situation I guess, It sounded fun. Sorry if anythings sloppy, I got really lazy while trying to reread this and edit this. and remember to correct me on any errors.

And sorry to the person who suggested it, but Takara won't be getting adopted by The wonderful couple, First they haven't had a decent date were they weren't being spied on or interupted, and they haven't really had any time to themselves. Second, while I'm all for them having Kids it's a little too early in their relationship to be thinking about kids. I could list three more reasons but I'm going to give you one. 'I don't know if I could keep writing iteractions with them all throughout the story withoutlosing focus of the main plot. . .half plot. . .idea. . . .thing.

If people think it's a good idea Maybe in later chapters she could make random appearances if she ends up living in their village or maybe letters if she moves far away.

For now I'm going to focus on the next chapter, well maybe I'll sleep first. . . after I find my blue dog with the white spots. . .


	19. Saving The Girl Pt 7: He's Not A Prince

**_Sorry if this took long. . .not sorry if it didn't. I sort of lost track of time. I was looking over the the last few chapters and was thinking that if I was someone else reading this I would have kicked me a long time ago. I've realized that I've been spending to much time on their mission then on them, which is probably why the mission has taken up almost half the story. . .so I'm planning on wrapping it up now well by next chapter, the mission I mean. I had a different ending for the mission but I changed it so I can get back to the origanl point to the story and away from the bad fighting scenes a what not. _**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto_**

**Step Nine - Saving the Girl Part Seven - He's Not The Prince **

* * *

Takara wasn't exaggerating when she had said the tunnels weren't far from collapsing. Small tiny pebbles and dust constantly fell from the ceiling and once in a while bigger rock fell from the walls. It had startle them all the first couple of times, thinking it was an enemy coming from behind or a trap that had been set off, but they had all quickly gotten used to it.

"N-Neji?. . . Shino?" the group looked at the blond who spoke. His voice sounded hoarse, dry, and slurred from the lack of sleep. He looked between the two men taking a few seconds before it registered that he was being carried. No, it didn't injure a mans pride at all when he passed out and had to be physically transported home. "Put me down, I can walk."

Neji ignored the boys request and only glared down at him when he started struggling. "Naruto, don't start getting in one of your hero modes, you can't even stand properly. I doubt you could walk far on your own."

"But Hinata and the scroll and-"

"I have the scroll. Sakura and Kiba have most likely found Hinata by now, they should be waiting right outside." Neji said cutting him off. Naruto was a great friend and a good ninja when he set his mind on something, but he never seemed to be able to stop himself from getting loud at the most inappropriate times.

"and if their not?"

"Then I will leave you with Neji and Akamaru and I will go find them." Shino replied before Neji could, already planning ahead and giving out orders.

Naruto moved his head and looked up at the ceiling, growling when a few pebbles landed on his head and dust got in his eye's. "Where are we? I don't remember caves with falling debris!" He yelled wiping his eye's trying to get the dirt out of them.

"Takara says that this way leads straight up to ground level and drops the chances of encounters, However the place could cave in at any time so I would suggest keeping your voice down. " the Hyuuga said, maneuvering to the right to avoid a even more falling rocks.

". . .Who's. . .Takara?" the blonde asked slowly, carefully. He felt a small timid tap on his shoulder and looked over seeing a small girl wave at him. He wondered where she came from. He waved back at the girl feeling a sharp pain in his whole arm. He clenched his teeth again. He saw the girl give him a concerned look and he gave her a sheepish smile.

He was trying to hide the pain in his voice but Neji could feel the muscles tensing from pain, however he couldn't find anything that could have been causing the pain. He had no extreme injuries. There was the one from before, when he had ran off, but that must have healed already. So what could have been bothering him now. This was a simple case of exhaustion, he had seen Lee work him self to the point that he would pass out on the training field and wake up in hospitals because some passerby found him there two day prior. Sure there was a bit of pain from worn out muscles and fatigue. But Naruto was grinding his teeth in agony and sweating with the effort not to let his pain show.

And he was doing a horrible job.

"How long have you been in pain?"

The question was direct and caught Naruto off guard. "H-huh? I. . .I'm not. I'm fine. . ." and again he was back to defending himself "Now put me down so I can walk!"

"Really You think you can walk? Fine!" Neji stopped and set Naruto up on his feet.

Immediately Naruto felt severe pain in his legs, side, and small pains starting in his arms. His head was getting fuzzy and he grabbed on to the wall. "See. . .I'm fine." He stated and started walking ahead, holding onto the wall.

Takara looked over at Neji, pulling his sleeve to get his attention. "If he uses the wall for support he'll eventually grab onto some loose rock a-"

The sound of gravel shifting and someone falling. The young girl sighed, walking over to Akamaru to wait for the other to talk some sense into Naruto. She watched them argue, choosing to block out the actual words. She observed them for a while, Naruto mostly, he was in pain that was obvious, but the boy didn't want help. Whether it was because he had a lot of pride or was worried about Hinata and didn't want to be held back, she didn't know.

Hinata. . .

She was worried about him. The reason she was able to brake down that door was because of him. The need to see for herself that he was okay, to see that he was alive, the need to know instead of hope and anyone that knew him would bet anything that Naruto was going through the same thing right now.

It was one of the few things the two had in common. Determination and strong will, the amazing ways they fed off of their own inner conflicts and their troubles of their friends. The way the wanted to improve themselves, even in the toughest situations like the one they were facing now, where they were both in so much pain and facing death and the only thing they were truly worried about was the other.

They both had big hearts.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It wasn't long before Sakura, Kiba and Hinata reached home. The woman only followed them to a certain point then suddenly turned around and went back. The first thing they had done when they had gotten back was taken Hinata to the hospital. She was still there being worked on.

Tsunade sat at her desk, her own desk this time. A large stack of neglected papers to her left, a couple of signed ones to her right and a nice fancy looking pen thrown onto the desk carelessly with all the other things that had to do with work . There was a ink stain on the desk, that hadn't been properly cleaned and the faint smell of alcohol lingered in the air, not that the empty bottle by the garbage bin wasn't all the evidence anyone needed that last night wasn't spent catching up on work.. "Ok so does anyone want to explain what happened to Hinata, where the others are and why the mission isn't complete yet?"

Sakura stepped up first. "We're not sure about the whole story with Hinata, we found her in the forest in that condition, there was a woman there trying to kill her. Tsunade there was something about that woman . . .She. . ." the pink haired girl stopped there, she wasn't sure how to describe the woman in a professional manner. "well she was crazy. She talked about killing us slowly and her fighting abilities are. . .I don't think I could take her, Kiba and I both had a problem with her, we couldn't even keep her down more then a few seconds. I used up all my chakra in the last punch and that only stunned her for a minute. It should have taken someone's head off. " she added remembering the way the woman's head turned when she delivered the blow.

Tsunade gave the girl a stern look. "You used all you chakra in one attack?"

"I had to. I knew it was risky but normal attacks weren't working and with Hinata's condition I didn't want to waste anymore time. I had thrown a few good hits before hand along with Kiba, attack that should have broken bones or at least gave us openings for stronger attacks but nothing seem to effect her. She didn't seem to run out of any chakra herself either. "

The Hokage's hand passed the neglected fancier pen and picked up on of the man common looking ones from the jar on the table. "Do you know if she took anything?"

Kiba looked up from his spot at the window and moved to sit on it's ledge. "You mean Soldier Pills? We didn't see her take any and Hinata hadn't mention anything. Besides, can a pill be made so strong that it can stop bones from snapping?" he inquired, turning his gaze from the blonde woman at the desk back to the busy streets of the village.

"I don't remember anything like that coming from a soldier pill. It might be a jutsu or a clan trait. . ." She mutter, trying to think of what could have been going on. Going through every piece of medical and non medical information she knew trying to figure out where the woman's strength and vitality were coming from. If this woman was really surviving such strong attacks then, surely, it could pose a problem if it wasn't taken care of immediately.

She had couple extra ninja that would be more suited for this sort of job. Things had quieted down in the village.

Looking down at her paper she reread over the single paragraph she had written. Her reply to a letter from another village, discussing negotiation of something she could barley remember at the moment.

But it would be very irritating to summon them and go through the whole situation. Not to mention they had just gotten back from there high ranked missions. Didn't they deserve a brake? And surely the leader of the allying village would understand if the Hokage had some urgent business to take care of. . .

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

They had made it out of the tunnel and the building all together, and were now following Akamaru who was following the scent of the other half of the team. Things would have been going a lot faster but Naruto still refused to be carried, however he had accepted the support from Neji.

"I thought the kid said that. . . Hinata was back At the cave's . . ." Naruto mumbled annoyed looking behind them where the caves were. What was that dog doing? He wanted to get Hinata before going back, he refused to go back without her.

"Perhaps they had an emergency and went ahead." Neji suggested thinking about what could have happened that would have interfered with their original plan. Most likely found the girl in a bad stated and rushed her home.

Shino gave a small nod of agreement. "Something probably came up. Akamaru's leading us straight back to the village. We should probably follow after them as quickly as possible."

"What About-!"

"Naruto, None of us would have left Hinata behind. You should know that by now." The Hyuuga boy stated, but the blonds slightly doubtful stare was a bit offending. "Would you have left Sakura behind?"

"No!"

The reply was instant, and had obviously offended the blond. Good they were all even. Neji smirked and remained silent.

Naruto was about to yell again, but stopped. He really didn't think he had the strength to keep up with an argument, he had to focus on getting back to the village without collapsing. In a way he felt like that tunnel that they just cam from slowly crumbling, until noting was left.

Besides his mind while processing information slowly, had registered where the other was going with the conversation. He supposed it was that he viewed Sakura the same way that Kiba and Shino viewed Hinata. The three had been practically glued together since the were place on the same team as genin. Through all their victories and failures, and all their inner struggles. they had been their for each other. They had made there own small family. And Neji was family by blood, so it was almost a given that he would go after Hinata, no matter what he actually said he was going to do.

So then their was no doubt that Hiashi was doing the same, trying to find Hinata while looking for the scroll. Or rather looking for the scroll while his main focus rested on his daughter.

Naruto could have kicked himself for not thinking about it earlier. "So then Kiba and Sakura should have Hinata with them, and you have the scroll. . . The missions complete?"

"The missions not complete until The scroll is handed to the Hokage."

Naruto, despite his state, gave the bug user a sour look. Leave it to Shino to shoot his down his happy mood. The uptight jerk. "Right. . .Wait what about Hiashi? He's still Back in that place!" Naruto shouted, attempting to turn around and go back only to be stopped by Neji who just gave a firm pull, causing the blonde to loose his footing and have to be caught by the Hyuuga.

Neji made an irritated noise that sounded something between a sigh and growl. "We can't do anything about that Naruto. None of us can stop him from doing what he wants. You need to be assisted back to the village and would only be a burden if you went back to help."

Naruto glared threateningly at the older boy out of the corner of his eye, promising a very painful trip home if he didn't take it back.

Feeling the glare the older boy, gave the blond a halfhearted glare of his own before looking away. Admitting to himself that he might have went a little to far with that last comment. "Naruto your strong, But none of us have the authority to stop him and right now you-"

"Alright already I get it, I get it!" he yelled cutting him off. He heard it enough. They wanted him to get home so they could get him to a hospital. Apparently there was something wrong with him that he didn't know about. Yes his body was killing him, he was in pain, his side felt like it was on fire and every time he took a step it felt like there were thousands of needles being stabbed into his side and legs. His vision was slowly getting worse, his reaction were slow, and he was tired. But he chose to ignore it because he had more important things to worry about, He had a mission, an obligation to his village, as future Hokage. . .Then a promise he made to Hinata that they'd get that scroll back. . .

then Hinata had been taken, and he had and it had been all his fault, because he decided not to pay attention to his surroundings and focus on one guy. And he had to go after her because he had an obligation to her as a. . .a what?

No. It wasn't an obligation, there was nothing that told him that he had to go after her, he could have gone back with the others and told Tsunade. It wasn't like he took an oath like they did when they became ninja, He wasn't obligated to do anything for her. He wanted to go after her, to make sure she was safe.

He never got that worried about Sakura before, when they got separated or when she got caught by the enemy. But when Hinata got taken, it felt a lot worse. Was it because he thought Sakura was stronger and could defend herself more, or was there something else that his mind didn't bring to the surface yet. . .

And what was he to her? The obviously weren't just friends. It was obvious that Hinata wanted something more then that. For years it had been obvious too everyone. Everyone except him. But they weren't exactly an official couple either. . .were they?

Why was this so confusing? why couldn't he just rewind time back to that day when they had that mission Sand and ignore Sakura's threat, never ask Hinata out, and just taken the beating from her when they got home, because, Great Hokage's of the past knew she wouldn't pass up the chance to beat him into a early grave.

He was still wondering how he had lived through all the past beatings from her. But, Even if he didn't ask Hinata out. . .would he be feeling any differently towards her now? She was still the same, timid, shy, cute, strong, determined, sweet girl she had always been. So perhaps Sakura had just quickened things a little and it would have only been a matter of time before he started feeling this way. . .started feeling. . .

Naruto felt on of his legs give out and fell, slamming face first into the dirt. Even if his mind was getting cloudy, when he placed his hands on the ground to push himself back up he noticed that the ground was starting to dry up. How long had it been since he ran off to save her?

The blonde could have laughed. He didn't save anyone, he was the one being saved. He had woken up being carried like some woman who had fainted in an old fashioned movie. He was supposed to go after Hinata, take out some enemy ninja, and bring her back to the village in one piece. Like the prince frome a story. He was not supposed to faint, fall over and get dizzy from exhaustion and dizziness.

'_Well as long as she's out of there and safe that's all I care about.' _He thought brushing himself off.

"A-are you okay?"

Looking over he saw the girl standing a couple feet away from him, looking concerned. He stood up, nodding "yeah I'm fine. I just tripped over something." he said, laughing.

The laughter faded when he saw the disbelieving looks on everyone's faces. He didn't know why he kept trying to fool them. They knew that even though he was walking and laughing off things like this as clumsiness that he was really in pain and all he wanted to do was pass out again. Sighing he stood there in defeat.

"Keep moving." Shino order after a few seconds of silence, and walked ahead with Akamaru, Takara close behind.

Neji once again supporting Naruto who decided to not cause any more problems and maybe after all this was over him and Hinata could talk about. . .well everything.

Because for something so simple, he was very confused.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Tsunade stood there at the gates, two anbu waiting patiently behind her. "Right, Sakura, remember to stay here, I need you to help out at the hospital. I'll make sure to bring the brat and the others back here."

Sakura nodded looking behind her at the two nameless people behind her, worriedly. "are you sure that those two are going to be enough? I mean the woman and tracking down the other shouldn't you take a specialist or something?"

The blond woman smirked. "Trust me these two are all I need? I'll take care off that woman, and get your friends back. Do you think I would have agreed to be Hokage if I couldn't do something a simple as this?"

"Right. . ."

No more words where said as Sakura handed over the map and watched the older woman disappear from sight. She turned the other way and head back to the hospital.

=-=-=-=-

Hinata had woken up a little bit ago and had moved, with much difficulty, to sit in a chair by the window. One of her bandaged hands laying in her lap, the other trying to grab her cup from the small table one of the nurse had been kind enough to move next to her. She could reach the cup just fine, it was just a matter of getting her fingers to bend and keep enough strength in them to hold the cup. The combination of the raw skin and stiff bandages wasn't allowing her to complete her task.

A hand reached out from behind her and held the cup in front of her. She looked up, seeing sakura standing there smiling. "Lady Tsunade went out to finish the mission herself and asked me to Help Shizune here."

"I thought. . . Y-you were going back to. . ."

Sakura shook her head. " I want to but if she's out there, there's no way for us to sneak back out. She'd catch us. . . Besides She'll bring everyone back."

Hinata hesitantly nodded. Sakura an Kiba wouldn't have been able to get past there Hokage without being caught and they could have gotten into a lot of trouble for not listening to her.

From what Kiba and Sakura had said, Naruto was already going to be in a lot of trouble.

Because of her. . . If she hadn't gotten kidnapped he wouldn't have came after her. Maybe she needed to train harder. If anything happen to him because of her, she didn't think she could get over the guilt.

Maybe this was why Ninja weren't supposed to show emotion on the battle field, why they weren't usually paired up on missions. Their feelings overtook their sense of duty. Hinata should have been worried about taking out her opponent which claimed to know where the scroll was, instead, she saw that Naruto was in trouble and forgot all about the scroll. In the end she got kidnapped and cause even more problems for the mission because of it.

"Hinata. . ." Sakura started seeing the look on the girls face. She sat the cup back on the table and sat on the ledge of the window, facing the other girl. "You know, Naruto, he. . .he would have done the same thing. If it had been you in his position, he wouldn't have hesitated jumping in front of the attack like that either."

The Hyuuga glance at the pink haired girl before looking back at her hands. " I know. It's just. . . It's just that Naruto's going t-to be in a lot trouble, because of me, and I-I don't know what I'll do if he. . ."

"He might get into trouble, but I don't think it'll be anything too extreme and He'll be fine. I bet the first thing he does when he get's back is come and see you. " Sakura said smiling watching the shy girl's cheeks take on a light pink. She giggled to herself amused. "He'll just be happy your home and safe."

The comment just made the girl's blush even dark, and she tilt her head down in an attempt to hide it.

The girls sat there for a little while and talked, about the mission, Sakura telling Hinata as much as she knew. There was a short appearance from Kiba who dropped off a card and flowers from his family and after a short conversation and a few choice phrases shot back and forth between him and Sakura, promised to be back in the morning, whether the domineering harpy was there or not.

Then it wasn't long before Sakura saw Hinata starting to doze off in her chair and her medic nature started kicking. She helped Hinata back to bed, taking care not to hurt any of her injuries and to not squeeze her hands as she guided her back to the bed. "Alright I'll come by in the morning and check in on you, and I'll be working here all night, so will Shizune so don't hesitate to ask for one of us if you need any thing." Sakura said as she went through the usual hospital routine of fixing the pillows and covering the patient up.

Hinata nodded but didn't give any response, too close to sleep to really talk. She heard the footsteps of the other girl walk away and the door opening, the loud sounds of wheels and voices coming from the halls were heard for a few seconds before the door closed with a quiet click.

For a moment the girl opened her eyes, looking out the window. Hopefully when she woke tomorrow Naruto would be back, maybe sitting in that chair by the window, smiling and waiting for her to wake up.

* * *

**_Yay! chapter done. This one surprisingly didn't take as long as I thought it would when I started writing it, There was just the issue of me staying motivated and staying in my seat long enough to actually work on it. . . and about the blue dog In case anyone was curious or worried I wasn't going crazy, I was talking about a stuffed animal._**

**_And yes they will be seeing each other next chapter. I haven't typed the chapter itself up yet, but they will see eachother. Which I should probably go start on while I have the energy. lol._**


	20. Giving Confusion A Chance

**_Ha! Chapter twenty! I feel accomplished. I'll feel even more accomplished when I finish the story, lol. Sorry if this took too long to post. . .I don't know I've lost track of time. I've been busy babysitting and whatnot. two to twelve. long. . .exhausting hours. . .I think I'd rather have a real job. . .kids are so evil. _**

**_Anyway, on with chapter twenty._**

_**oh and if anything seems out of place or kind of like. . .combinded or merged, like two paragraph or soemthing have been put together like they shouldn't be let me know. the last couple chapters have been doing that and I try to fix it, but yeah I miss some things. yeah, right chapter time.**_

_**Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own naruto. Thank you.**_

**Step 10 - Giving Confusion A Chance**

It was some time in the afternoon and Hinata found herself sitting in the chair staring at the blank mission report in her lap. One of the nurses had stopped by a while ago and dropped it off telling her that one of the others had dropped it off and that she should fill it out before the Hokage got back.

Apparently the woman hadn't paid attention to her cloth wrapped hands or read her medical chart.

She didn't blame the woman though, she was sure the nurse was just really busy and hadn't noticed. The hospital was a bit more busy then usual.

Hearing the door open, she looked up seeing Sakura peek her head in.

The pink haired girl looked at the frowning at seeing it empty then scouted the room, smiling when she saw the patient sitting in the chair by the window. "Hey, Hinata. You have a visitor. . ."

Hinata looked at her friend questioningly. It couldn't have been Naruto that much she was sure. He would have already barged in the room making grand entrance. She just nodded and waited for Sakura to open the door.

Once the door opened, Hinata immediately recognized the child standing in the doorway. " T-Takara? How?" Hinata, started to instantly feel guilty, she had forgotten about the girl she had left back there.

"Your friends found me. . .What happened to you?" she asked looked at the bandages wrapped around her hands and where the blood was coming through her clothes.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, You never told us everything. As soon as we got back, the medics took you we didn't really get much of the story out before Tsunade decided to run out and deal with it on her own."

The Hyuuga girl looked back down at her report then back up at Sakura, and smile. "I-I can tell you what happened while you write it up?" it came out as more of a question then joke. She the other girl look at her confused before she realized what exactly was on her lap. The confusion was replaced with anger in an instant.

"Are they blind or just stupid?! You're a patient in a hospital she could show a little sympathy!"

"I-I'm sure she was just busy, besides we've all filled out reports while being hospitalized before." The timid girl said trying to defend the nameless nurse.

Sakura sighed, shaking her head. "Hinata, It's still no excuse. Just like me every other person who works in this building has to read the patients charts and see to their individual needs. You for example should have straw for your drink so you don't have to attempt to pick it up, and have your bandages changed at least twice a day. The man in the next room, need to be checked in on every hour and his right leg needs to be kept elevated. " Sakura explained, as she picked up the clipboard and papers and skimmed over them. She looked over the top of it to look at Hinata, hiding a smile behind the clipboard. "Just like Naruto is going to need constant supervision for the next few days. "

It took a few seconds before the name registered, but when it did her her eye shot up to look at the other. "N-Naruto? I-is he okay?"

Sakura set the bottom of the clipboard on her lap and rested her arms on the top. "He's. . .in bad shape, but he'll be okay. He's got a bad injury on his side he neglected that got infected. He also got sick so his immune system is taking a harsh blow with both the infection and the illness. There's something else going on, we've started running tests on that. If you want, after we're done filling this out I can take you to go see him."

"R-really?"

=-=-=-=-=-

Sakura smiled when they where finally done the report. Her hand felt like it had been making hand signs for hours straight. You could go up to any shinobi and ask them what part about their jobs they hated most and they would tell you it was filling out reports. This was mainly because no one like writing about what had happened during missions. They liked to come back from the mission, forget it ever happened and take pride in the fact that they came home alive. Could you blame them, People died on missions and sometime people came back traumatized or physically incapabable of continuing their normal life style. No one wanted to remember what they or their friends had been through.

Plus there were these pointless questions, like, 'If you where ambushed what time was it?'. Why would they need to no what time it was? Of course rarely anyone filled out this question, Sakura and Hinata had never themselves filled it out. It wasn't like there was a clock around tem when they were attacked, and if someone was wearing a watch, when would the have time to look at it?

"Alright, Let's get you to Naruto's room." She said standing up and helping Hinata out of her seat by the window and into the mobile chair she had brought in a few minutes before.

Hinata felt a little frustrated that she had to be moved around with the wheelchair, but kept quite. She knew that it was just another rule from the hospital. Even if she could walk on her own. She might have a deep stab wound in her leg but she could still walk.

However she pushed her feelings on the moment aside, The important thing was that she was on her way to Naruto. This thought had her smiling as she was pushed out of the room.

The smile faded and her happy thoughts were replaced with worried ones. What if Naruto was mad at her for getting captured and what about the fact that it was her fault the mission was almost ruined. Or maybe he would go back to thinking she was weak because of it. But still. . .there was no excuse for her getting caught, she was a ninja she was supposed to be trained for those types of situations. She was supposed to be able to think of alternatives and salutions on spot no matter how much pressure she was under and she had failed. She should have figured a way out of the situation before she been locked up in that cellar of a room.

What would he think of her now?

"Your going to get wrinkles if you worry too much."

Hinata looked over at the girl who was walking net to her chair. "I-It's just. . ."

Takara laughed at the girls nervousness. "Grandpa use to tell my dad that every time he got worried about my mother, whether it was from a mission or because he was weaker then she was. He always thought the worst when he thought to much on her job as a Ninja compared to his job as farmer. "

Sakura watched the two talk quietly, learning what she could. She was surprised to see the girl comforting the teen and wondered who she picked up the trait from.

The group stopped when someone called out for Sakura. Neither of the teens had to look to see who it was. There was only one person who worked in the hospital that could sound that panicked without a major fight going on. The pink haired girl turned around to greet the older woman, but stopped when she saw her start taking in large amount of air trying to catch her breath.. "Shizune? Are you okay"

Shizune shook her head and stood up straight. "Sorry, Sakura I've been trying to find you for a while. Tsunade's back she wants to see Takara, Something about the woman she caught. The one that you fought. They have her secured and she want's the child to Identify her and fill in some of the blanks since the woman's refusing to talk." The older female explained looking over at the child and back at Sakura.

"I see. . ." Sakura looked over at the small child as well. "Takara is that okay with you?"

Takara nodded. "Of course. I'll answer what ever questions I can." She relied walking over to Tsunade's slave of a friend. "I'll visit you later. Tell your _friend_ I said 'hello'" She said looking at Hinata and watching her turn red before waving and following the older woman.

Sakura laughed at Hinata's blush and waited to they were out of sight before speaking again. "I feel bad for the kid. . .Going through all that and now having to go through questioning."

Hinata looked at Sakura shaking her head. "She'll be okay. "

"Maybe . . . So your ready to see Naruto?" Sakura asked stopping in front of a door.

Forgetting that she was injured Hinata stood up, wincing slightly when she felt a sharp pain in her leg. She ignored both the pain and Sakura's strict orders to get back in her chair in favor of grabbing on to the door handle. She hesitated as she saw the numbers on the door, wondering if maybe he would be on the other side hanging from the ceiling.

The memory made her blush, and she twisted the handle pushing gently on the door. Peaking her head inside, she saw the blond laying in his bed, staring at her. The stare was blank at first but soon the blond was grinning and sitting up in his bed.

"Hinata!"

The girl smiled back and ran over to his side, not noticing the sting of her wounds or Sakura yelling at her to put the mask or gloves on. She didn't even bother to slow down as she neared his bed. Eventually within a short couple seconds her legs hit a metal bar on the side of the bed and her upper body lurched forward landing on top of Naruto who let out a yelp of pain.

Hinata gasped out in alarm from causing the pain and pushed her self off of him, starting to apologize. Putting him in pain was the last thing she had wanted to do.

Neither her nor her apology got to far when a hand shot out grabbing her wrist being careful of her hands and with a slight pull, she was back in the awkward position, this time there were two arms wrapped around her. "N-Naruto. . ." the name was somewhat muffled, Hinata resting her head on the blondes shoulder her face buried in the blondes neck.

Naruto smiled, he couldn't have said how happy he was. He was so preoccupied with his chest swelling with joy that he was only vaguely aware of the pain in his side. He wasn't really aware of anything other then the sight of a live Hinata and the fact that she was safely wrapped in his arms and he didn't want to let go. Ever.

It stayed like that until a certain pink haired friend faked a cough. Naruto then noticed that Sakura had been in the room and laughed nervously at her smiling. He could tell the way Hinata jumped ever so slightly that she was embarrassed. He could even feel it as her hidden face heated up. He could feel that same warmth starting spread over his own face.

"I'll go check on the others. Just remember you both need some rest. "

Naruto watched as Sakura closed the door with a giggle and then looked at Hinata loosing his grip, Hinata turned her head to face away from the boy, yet neither of them completely moved away from each other and silence took over.

Neither was sure what to say. Hinata wasn't sure if she should apologize for causing all the trouble or maybe tell him how worried she was about him while they were separated. She couldn't help but feel it was her fault, she was the one who had gotten trapped and she was the one who couldn't make it back to them in time.

Naruto also wanted to apologize, for getting her kidnapped and not being able to save her like he should have. Instead of being her savior, he was in pretty much the same state she was in, and he felt like something wasn't right. Hinata was being too quiet, usually she would have said something to encourage him by now. Perhaps she really was mad at him.

Maybe he should say something, she could have been waiting for an apology. No Hinata wasn't like that, she could never hold a grudge like that, she was forgiving for something like that. Maybe the silence was meaningless, it could have been that all they needed was to make sure that the other was alive to feel the others heart beat. To hear the others breaths next to their ears.

Naruto stopped, irritated with his own thoughts, Maybe he had been talked into reading one to many of those horrible books, or maybe He had just been Hanging around Sakura too long. It wasn't like he wasn't aware of her opinions of love, she drilled them in to his head permanently since she use to stalk their old teammate around the village.

But, Maybe that's how all girls thought about love. The loving, caring, romantic, gushy heart filled fantasies that they read or saw on television. The stories with the, female who was going through some kind of dark phase in her life and then she meets a man who she falls hard for. And then he'll sing to her and write her poetry and tell her how much he loves her and they live happily ever after.

Surely Hinata knew this wasn't a movie, right?

He hoped not, couldn't pull off anything like that. He couldn't sing, He couldn't even put together a normal poem let alone one fill with declarations of love, He had very little experience with the topic. Beside's he didn't even know where they stood.

"Naruto. . .I'm sorry."

"Sorry. . .? For what?" The apology confused him what had Hinata done in between now and then? There wasn't much she could do while she was being held prisoner, unless she decided to cheat on him with the enemy. However the what highly doubtful, Hinata was to loyal for that, not to mention that their relationship hadn't gotten to far yet.

"For getting you into a-all this trouble. " She said pulling away from him, refusing to look at him directly. "I-I shouldn't have. . . I got in th0the way. . .and. . ." Her head fell and she still refused to look at him.

"Hinata. . .That's nothing to be sorry for I was the one who wasn't paying attention, you only did it because I was in danger. There's nothing wrong with that!" Naruto exclaimed. Out of all the thing that could have been worrying her, why was she always worried about herself getting in the way of something. She did what she thought was right and to the general population, what she had done would be seen as an act of heroism, not . "Besides. . .I would have done the same thing for you. "

Hinata snuck a small glance at him. "You would have done that for any of your friends."

"Yeah but. . .I wouldn't have ignored Sakura's logical words"

Hinata, turned her head to completely face him. "You've done that before too. . . A l-lot"

Naruto started getting nervous. "I don't panic as much over them!" His voice getting showing signs of frustration.

Hinata went silent for a second before suddenly turning her head away from him. He found the sudden change in attitude odd, even for Hinata.

"You panic when Sakura's late for team meetings or when the Ramen stand doesn't open for a day." She replied, her tone was abnormally bitter and she turned complete away from him.

"I. -I that's, but she'd never late for anything, it's just. . . I get worried whe-"

"More worried about her then me. . ." a slightly insecure tone laced with bitterness. . . Naruto was now completely confused and worried.

She heard a sound of confusion from Naruto, and smiled. She had to bite her tongue to keep form laughing.

Naruto mind was swimming with different idea of Hinata's behavior. Either someone had switched places with the real Hinata or Hinata had changed drastically in the short amount of time they were separated and had grown a jealousy issue. "Hi-Hinata, I- I, swear I was worried about you! More then I've ever worried about Sakura or Ramen!" He started to raise his voice, determined to get the girl to believe him. He had seen jealous girls before, and he did not want to be stuck in the middle of the crossfire. "Hinata! Come on, I went looking for you after Sakura and Neji I should do otherwise, I can't remember how many times I've bumped into something in the cave maze of a mansion, I've got some serious bruises though, I haven't even slept since I started looking for you. . .well I passed out but that's completely different and you know working with your father isn't exactly fun and but I did and now you go and get all green-eyed and telling me I do. . .-Hinata?"

Hinata had brought up her hands to cover her face and she was sitting there shaking quietly. She knew playing tricks like that was cruel, but she couldn't help but be curious if what reactions it would bring from him. While she liked it, she didn't think it would be something she would do again, He sounded worried, a little panicked and rightfully irritated and when she heard him say he work with her father she could help but laugh at the image of them have a strained conversation about the mission and the argements of logic and heart. Then she heard him use the term 'green-eyed' and she couldn't help but laugh. Where had he learned that term anyway?

"H-hey.. . don't . . ." He leaned over trying to lean over far enough to get a look at her face, to see how much she was crying."I-I'm sorry, Naruto I just w-""I already told you not to worry about that. You didn't do anything wrong, It was my fault, I wasn't being careful enough when I was fighting I sho-"

"N-no I mean abo-"

"That's not your fault either!" he said placing a hand on her shoulder, his mind trying to figure out how to calm her down. He didn't want to be the reason for her crying. It made him feel awful, like he had ate a bowl of bad ramen.

Hinata wondered if Naruto knew what she was even apologizing for and looked over her shoulder to look at him. She was certain now that he was just trying to comfort her without even knowing what the problem was. She found it sweet even if he was blindly trying to do something, at least he was trying.

Naruto pulled back a little when she turned her head back to face him. Her face was slightly red and her eyes held a little bit of guilt and where slightly watery but there were no tear. "Your not. . .Were you laughing?" he asked surprised. He looked seriously confused now and Hinata turned back around to face him, still looking guilty.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I didn't mean any of that." She paused to reach out for his hand. "I know that you where worried about me. And I don't mind that I'm not the only one you worry about. I-if you didn't worry about your friends as much as you do, How would you be able to worry about me at all?"

". . .You tricked me." The sentence cam with a childish pout and an un-amused look. "Sorry, I just w-wanted to see your. . .your reaction." She said blushing in embarrassment at the reason behind her behavior.

Naruto looked at her red face for a moment, wondering If she did what she did for the same reasons he went out of his way to make her face change color. The idea made him happy in a weird way. He didn't like it that he was tricked, and he definitely didn't like thinking that she was crying, but when he found out why she did it, He didn't feel as angry as he should have, actually He wasn't angry at all. He was actually feeling a little bit arrogant now. Maybe it was okay because it was Hinata who did it. However a playful sense of revenge laced with an unidentified feeling was making it's self known and without a second thought he took her hand in his own.

"Hey Hinata. . .?"

"Ye-" Hinata froze solid, her eye's widened.

Slightly dried, chapped, lips were pressed against her own noticeably less chapped ones in a kiss. It was a little sloppy, short, nothing like the velvety, rose petal soft lips the girls talked about. But there was a feeling behind it. Not quite the romantic, 'sweep you off your feet and carry you off into the sunset' kiss, but there was some kind of tenderness behind it and Hinata couldn't have been happier.

Yet all she did was sit there shocked and confused and dazed. Although it seemed like minutes, she was only in that daze for a couple seconds before her brain started to bring her back to the real world and she registered what was Naruto pulled away there wasn't a spot on her that he could see that wasn't red.

He grinned, laughing lightly when she looked at him with amazed eyes. The grin quickly fell when she started swaying, nearly falling off the bed. "Hinata. . .Don't faint again." Naruto never thought a kiss could really make a girl pass out, that it was something that only occurred in movies to emphasize the fact that the guy was 'that attractive'. However, Hinata had proved him wrong. Another thing about those movies, when the girl passed out, more then half the time the guy would just walk away leaving the girl there in her own world. In reality when people passed out like that, there was usually a head injury involved, a bump at the least .. The hot guy on tv really wouldn't have such a large fan girl population left if he did that. They would all be at the hospital from concussions and brain damage.

He grabbed Hinata pulled her to him to keep her from falling off the bed. "Hinata are you still awake?" he asked concerned.

"Y-yes." Her voice was back to that low barely audible tone with a slight squeak and obviously a bit flustered.

"Good. . . Oh Um When I was wondering around the tunnels with your father we found your bag. . .It's over there on the table, I wanted to bring it to you when I. . .Hinata?" Naruto looked down as she froze up again and quickly pulled away from him. "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing, I just didn't realize that I forgot it." She hopped down from the bed and walked over to where the table was. She immediately spotted the bag sitting on the table laying on top of a few papers. She grabbed it and opened up the bag looking underneath the flap. She saw the design she had drawn.

Naruto saw her looking at the bag with a smile. "Is there something special about the bag?"

"Well, I. . .um." Hinata started, looking back and forth between the bag and the blonde.

Finally she took a hesitant step and walked back over to him handing him the bag. Naruto took the bag giving her a clueless look. She motioned for him to open it and looked away when he did.

Inside he saw the fancy design, with his and Hinata's names inside. It was impressively drawn, but some parts looked faded like it was done a long time ago. ". . .when did you do this?" He asked, looking up at her, watching her eye's dart around the room.

"When I bought it. . .Almost th-three y-year's ago. . ."

"You've really liked me for that long?" watching Hinata's face turn red, again, and she shook her head. His first thought was that maybe his friends exaggerated on the length of Hinata's crush. However, the girl said she drew it three years ago, and why would she draw his name along with hers in a fancy decorated heart, If she didn't like him then. She wouldn't. "Then. . .Longer?"

"Since the first day I saw you In Iruka-sensei's class."

"Why? I wasn't anything back then. I was last in class, I constantly got in trouble, I didn't have any friends, and I couldn't even do the simplist of techniques. I couldn't even pass the exams. I flunked, repeatedly."

"I. . .I always thought. . .that you were a good person." She said taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "You never gave up. . .even when y-you did fail the exam. You kept at it. I. . .admired you for it. . .and during the chuunin exams when I was fighting Neji. . .I-I only lasted that long because of you. You cheered me on. . .you believed in me. The person that I admired most had faith in me, and when I lost, I felt like I let you down, so I started training harder. You're the reason I've gotten this strong, "

Naruto sat there, a little unsure of the girl's words. How could any one admire him? Admire him to the point that they felt guilty for losing when he had cheered them on, especially when he himself had almost lost. He couldn't see why the girl liked him so much. He was loud, over confident, got into trouble more times in a week then anyone could in there life, and now he was so confused about his feelings for Hinata that he wished he had paid more attention to her back then so he could say something that great about her right now.

He wasn't a romantic person. He didn't know how many times he had reminded himself of that but how could he not, with someone like Hinata caring as much as she did and saying things that made his chest fill with some type of pride and giving him a different Kind of attention that he had never received before.

She would buy his food when he was hungry and never wanted anything in return. Even though she thought he didn't see those quick glances, those eye's he saw, held something that was familiar but at the same time it was different and it gave him a feeling that he never felt before. It was a little scary, but it was also tempting. Like a haunted house on Halloween or a rollercoaster, It looked and felt frightening, but it stood innocently there in it's horrifying glory until you gave in.

Then you would see passed it's scariness and have fun. He had done that with Hinata, looked passed her oddness and now he was seeing her in a whole new way.

Maybe he could do that with the feelings he had . . . After he figured out what they were.

Hinata saw the look of genuine confusion on the others face as he was having an inner struggle. She knew that she was taking a big chance when Naruto had asked her out. She was aware that Naruto never had a romantic type of love in his life, if you didn't include his old crush on Sakura. She was also aware that he barely knew she existed, that it was probably by some big coincidence that he had asked her out and that he most likely didn't feel as strongly for her then she hoped for. She was really setting her self up for heartbreak. "Naruto, I. . .I've always lo. ..felt something for you and. . .I u-understand if you don't fell the same way. . I just-"

"Hinata, what would you do if, and it really is an if!" He started cutting her off before she could finish. He took a breath and continued his own question. "If I told you that I didn't feel the same way?"

Her hands starting to play with the bed sheets, nervously. Even as an 'if', the question caused her chest to tighten painfully. She even felt a like crying. What would she do if it didn't work out. She wanted it to work out but what if it didn't? Would she be able to forget about him after all the years? Let him go and move on? "I-I don't know. . ."

"Hinata. . .your. . ." Once again he didn't finish his sentence and instead reached up with his hand to wipe a tear of the girls face, feeling bad for asking the question. "I don't know how far this will go Hinata, but we're going to find out." he mumbled so low that she almost didn't hear it, but it was obvious she did when she gave him a him a smile and hugged him, immediately hiding her face in his chest, no doubt turning that humorous shade of red. He her say something but couldn't make it out.

Brushing it off as another unnecessary apology he wrapped his arms around her, his grin returning. He never felt like this. Like he just wanted to sit back and relax and be. . .calm. He could get use to this though, just sitting around with Hinata doing nothing.

It was so quiet he could he her breathing, slow steady, probably half way asleep. She was a nice girl, a little odd at times, maybe in need of a little reassuring here and there, but she was still strong. She had lived with her feeling for him for so long. It must have hurt when he hadn't noticed her, and those times when he use to chase after Sakura and those times he called her weird to her face when they were younger. Of course he never meant it in the way that he was making fun of her, but to someone as sensitive as she is, it must have felt like a punch to the stomach. Times two because of her crush on him.

Sighing, he rested his chin on top of her head, his grin fading into a smile.

He really wasn't sure how far he could go but, there was no way he was going to break her heart if he could help it.

* * *

_**Poor Naruto, so confused, atleast he's not totally clueless, right? And look their back together. This chapter was difficult to type, can any one tell I was having a problem with it? Even though it's one of the more longer chapters I've typed it still seems short to me for some reason. Probably because not much happened except them talking. ofh well, It's four am and I'm to tired to think on it. . .**_


	21. Further Into Confusion

**_Here's the next chapter. Sorry I know there taking long to get out. . .I feel bad about. It's a bit of procrastination a bit of having to think, a bit of ADD, a bit of this and that. So yeah. does any one else find uploading there document a bit wierd? I uploaded this one and half the page came up in italic. . . and all of it was bold. I know I use bold and italics but yeah. No Idea. _**

**_Anyway Here's your chapter. _**

**_Disclaimer- I do NOT own Naruto_**

**Step 11- further into confusion. **

* * *

"Ew. . . They were all dried out and chapped and. . .and. . .gross!" Ino said, put off by the thought of it.

"Ino! He's a guy plus he just got back from a tough mission. He completely wore himself out walking around that cave for two days. I think he was more worried about Hinata then his lips. Besides this is Naruto we're talking about, do you honestly believe he was thinking when he kissed her?" Sakura scowled at her friend, why did the blond girl think that everyone was perfect? "He was sick, he could have gotten her sick."

"Still, if a guy came near me with lips like that I would punch him."

"If any guy came near a skank like you, he'd have to be beyond desperate." Kiba's voice butted in as he looked as his menu bored and a little aggravated with the current conversation and with the blonde's remarks.. Where they ever going to leave Hinata and Naruto alone?

"And the only girl that would come near you is your mother so If I were you I wouldn't talk, you unsightly piece of trash." She retorted with a snarl as she slammed her hands on the table

Kiba turned his ever so slightly to give the girl a grin. "I wish you were me. Then you would have killed your self by now. "

"Anyway! Hinata said that Naruto held her like that till she had to go back to her own room. She even fell asleep!" Sakura said quickly interrupting the argument.

Kiba rolled his eyes as Ino gave out a squeal and giggled. Why where girls so loud about the dumbest things. They where practically interrogating Hinata and squeezing information out of her. And what ever information Hinata was to embarrassed to tell her, Sakura would beat out of Naruto. "Do either of you have any shame?"

Ino gave a arrogant laugh flipping her ponytail behind her, effectively smacking Kiba in the face. "If it's so shameful why are you still here Kiba?."

The Inuzuka gave a arrogant laugh of his own to mock the girl. "I came here with Shino and Sakura then, if you remember correctly Sakura decided on a whim to drag you along. After my food gets here I'm finishing it off then, I'm out of here. "

Sakura gave Kiba a bemused looked. "Um Kiba, where is Shino?"

The teen looked around for a moment realizing that once again his teammate had left him to fend for himself against the two girls with the most unstable friendship he had ever witnessed. Everything they about them was different from their appearance to there attitudes. It wasn't any surprise when they ended up in a argument ten seconds into a topic. Probably one of the main reasons why Shino seemed to disappear whenever they spotted each other. The bug user could have at least warned him before he took off. Kiba would have gladly followed. "I don't know, probably found something more important to occupy his time." Yes, it was a lie. But Kiba was determined not to get massacred this time.

"What could bug boy possibly find more important then spending time with us?" The blond girl asked obviously more offended that someone ditched her with out warning then being left as a group.

"Maybe this is new to you, but gossip isn't Shino's favorite thing. "

Ino glared at the boy at the table for a second before looking back at Sakura. "Why do you hang out with this guy? Seriously, He's sarcastic, rude, arrogant-"

Kiba made an indignant noise as the girls choice of words. 'like she's one to talk'

Sakura shook her head at the two watching them glare at one another from the corner of their eyes. Was that how Her and Kiba acted all the time? No, she would never act like Ino. "Naruto is dating Hinata. Even though if they don't say it out loud and belittle what I do, I think they get curious about their dates too."

"Curious? Once in a great while maybe but you, your stalker material." He said with a smirk

"Hey, it not like I twist your arm. . ." Sakura said giving the dog boy a half hearted glare of her own.

"No you nearly ripped off. Beside's, I don't have to follow them around town and spy on them. Hinata, usually tells me and Shino what's going on. Maybe if you stopped pestering him all the time and acting like his mother Naruto would tell you too." He said looking back at his menu feeling accomplished, until a silence fell of the table.

He looked back up, seeing Sakura and Ino watching him patiently.

He made a mental note to staple his mouth shut later and muttered a lame excuse before rushing out of the little food place.

Sakura and Ino looked at each other for a second before following him not to far behind.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"B-But I don't know what to do! I-I. . .How. . .What do I do? I don't know what I'm doing, Iruka-sensei Help me!!" The blond begged.

Iruka sighed looking down at his old student who was pleading for help. He had been asking for help in his relationship with Hinata for two hours and had yet to give up. "Naruto I already told you, you don't need help. You just need to give it time, you'll figure it out when your ready. " He said repeating the same words he had told him earlier. However the blond just gave him a pitiful look and shuffled his feet anxiously.

This time the older man looked away from the boy trying to avoid him.

"Iruka. . ." Naruto pleaded again sounding more childish then anything as he stood in front of the teachers desk. It took a full minute before the older man looked up.

"Naruto!" Iruka shouted exasperated, finally giving in and letting out a defeated sigh. Why did he always get stuck helping Naruto with the most complicated situations. Why couldn't it have been something about the proper use of a certain weapon or maybe a a few hints on a jutsu. He was a teacher not counselor

Naruto grinned in victory jumped for joy and Iruka shook his head. "Alright settle down and tell me what your so confused about?"

"Can we-"

"No." Iruka sternly cut him off before he could finish.

"B-but. . .ramen!"

The older man glared at him. "No way, last time you skipped out on your half of the bill."

Naruto laughed sheepishly.. "Oh yeah. . .sorry about that." He said, looking away, remembering when he ran out of the noodle stand and taking off before his old sensei could realize what he did.

Iruka nodded at the teens false apology and gestured for him to continue on to his reasons for interrupting his after school, paper grading, the real reason why he wasn't letting the boy drag him out of the school to the Ichiraku's.

Naruto stood for a second before taking a chair from one of the near by walls. The seats were much smaller and shorter then he remembered. Not that he bothered to remember much from the academy that wasn't interesting to him and chairs, weren't all that much of an eye catcher. He remembered sitting in the back once and setting off a smoke bomb along with a couple harmless fire crackers. Hinata had saw him bring the stuff in, he remembered asking her not to tell on him.

Come to think of it she had seen him bring stuff in a few times, but she never told on him, even when he didn't ask her to.

Maybe it was little things like that, that should have hinted it off. Keeping quiet about his pranks, even when he didn't asker her to. she was even going to let him copy off her test once. Was that what everyone was talking about.

"Naruto?"

"Oh right. . .I don't know, I just don't know how to or where to start. There's these weird feelings. . .Well there not. . .weird, I don't think. . . I mean I think there just from being frustrated from when I went on that mission, and then when I was talking with Hinata. . .especially when I was talking with Hinata. . .She had tears on her face, And it made me feel bad for asking that question but . . ." Naruto paused scratching his head. He was having a really hard time explaining his self and he kept jumping around from topics. He wonder if Iruka was even getting any of it. "I know I like her, but I don't know if I. . .If I. . .you know. . . And I don't want to hurt her. I really don't want to hurt her, but I mean if I end up not feeling the same I don't want to lie to her either. but I don't know what to do, and how the hell am I supposed to know if I. . .I L . . .lo. . ."

He couldn't help but smile as the blond struggled to say the words. Although Iruka thought there was a chance that Naruto could already love Hinata, he also thought that even if he didn't he would in the future. There was just something about the two when they where together, everyone could see it. Though seeing it such a young couple was a little more then surprising in recent generations. These days all the young people wanted to do was live life till they grew tired from too much partying and had matured more and where ready to settle down. Naruto and Hinata where an exception.

Hinata had been dead-set on being with Naruto for years, cheering him on, believing in him, trying to gain his attention even though it ended in failures more then half the time. Naruto on the other hand was just beginning to know Hinata. Even though they have always been friends, Naruto considered all his allies his friends, he had never really got to know her and now he was sitting here willing to give it all he had to make a relationship work, even when he was confused about some type of feelings he couldn't even put into words.

Young Love, how adorable. But love could be just as confusing as it was adorable and, Saying those three words could be the scariest thing one could ever do. "If you love her?"

Blinking Naruto looked at him. "Y-yeah"

"Well have you told her You loved her." he asked boredly. Truthfully this wasn't one of the conversation he had ever really wanted to have with the boy.

"No! I just told you I don't know If I lo-like her like that" Why could he just say it? If he felt that way about her shouldn't he be able to say it without any problems?

"Well, there's one small hint." Iruka as he shuffled through more papers marking things down every so often, trying to concentrate on his job.

"Huh?"

Iruka, laughed and stood from behind his desk, collecting the paper off his desk. He might as well take them home since he wasn't getting anything don here. . "Naruto, there are only a very few common signs of love, and their not something that you can rely on because they can be imitated. The only one who is going to know whether or not you love Hinata, is you. Those confusing emotions your feeling might be a big clue to how you feel about her. Ask your self questions, like how did you feel when she cried? Or how long does it take before I miss her company. Or count how many small observations you make about her during the day. Even one of her small habits can be one of the things you'll treasure most about her " He stated, tapping the ends of the papers on the tabled to straighten them out.

The first thing that came to Naruto's mind were images of a blushing Hinata, sitting across from him nervously pressing her fingers together. Shaking his head he scolded himself mentally. He was trying to figure something out, he didn't have time to be thinking about her endless blushes. "Wait, what do you mean? What kind of habits?"

"Any kind of habit, Maybe she has a certain way of folding a napkin, or maybe she has a certain laugh, or a hobby, or maybe she has a certain way of doing things. It can be anything."

Once again images of the girl blushing came back. . .which was a habit. ". . .oh. . .Yeah. So I should think about everything I know and then decide?" He asked trying to take in as much information as possible.

The teacher frowned as he started to walk of to the class room door, Naruto close behind. "No, you don't _decide_ Naruto. You'll know if you lo-." Iruka stopped and cleared his throat at the look the blond gave him. "Sorry. If you like her like that once everything has sorted itself out. Just take your time. "

"What is it with adults always telling kid's to take there time!" He yelled, He had never saw the point in waiting around for something when he could have already had it five minutes ago.

The darker haired male smirked as they walked down the school halls. " What's Hinata's favorite color?"

Naruto smirked back mouth open ready to reply when he stopped, realization hitting him hard in the face with a brick. "Uh. . .I don't know. . .she never told me."

"Favorite animal?"

"Oh um. . .No clue. . ."

"What does she like to do for fun?"

"She uh. . ."

"When's her birthday?"

". . ." This time Naruto didn't even try to answer. He didn't know the answers to any of the questions Iruka was asking him. The only dates they had ever been on consisted of eating or training. He wasn't even going to count the dinner party because the mission had interfered. He couldn't Imagine training being something that Hinata enjoyed. Sure every ninja did it, it was like a second nature to them but, Hinata was far too gentle to do such a thing just for kicks.

He had never heard her mention her birthday or what animal she liked or anything about colors. They never really talked about much except for their friends or stories about their past missions.

"How much time have you to spent together." Iruka asked curiously.

Naruto feeling the bitterness from days before resurface glowered pitifully at the floor. "Well are the first time we spent alone together was that lunch a while back, when you suggested that I start being better friends with her, then are first date was in Sand and then we went out a couple times here. At first it was really awkward so, so we didn't talk much, and after it stopped being so tense we realized that are friends were spying on us so we spent most of are time either in silence or trying to evade them. Then there where the missions"

"Hold on your friends have been spying on your dates with Hinata?" He asked slightly amused by the thought of Naruto's friends using their stealth to trail them, yet still angry with their abuse of there Ninja training. Maybe that's why the kid was so confused, he needed some quiet time with Hinata, without having to try and dodge snooping friends and running around on missions so they could bond. "No wonder you haven't gotten any talking done. Have you thought about requesting a vacation? Ask for a day off, and go somewhere nice, where Sakura and the others can't follow. " He shifted the papers in one hand and opened the door with the other letting Naruto out.

"Do You think she would let me?" Naruto asked hopefully, as he stepped out holding the door so the older man could get out without the door hitting him.

"I don't see why she wouldn't. She already has the enemy detained and other then her ongoing interrogation with her things are pretty quiet. besides there are plenty of people of stand by if anything comes up. "

Naruto grinned from ear to ear at the information, letting the door slam closed behind them and gave his former sensei a wave. "Thanks Iruka-Sensei!" He said shouted excitedly making a dash to his destination, leaving behind a very worn out, but grateful teacher.

Iruka shook his head for the final time before heading to his own home. Wondering if he should have told the younger male it would take more then a couple dates to work out his feelings or if it was best to let him figure it out on his own.

=-=-=-=-=-=-

Hinata sat out in the yard with Neji and his team, having lunch. She had been watching them train for a while, trying not to laugh when Neji and Lee would get in to arguments or when Tenten would yell at Lee for getting over exited about something.

The team stopped their movements, and sat down in the grass. Tenten looked over at the girl then over at Neji. "Hey, Neji, is Hinata still going out with Naruto?"

The male looked at her, irritation clearly evident. "Why would I know something like that?"

"She is family. . .You think with how much you two have put aside, you'd be a little more involved in her life." the girl grumbled twirling a kunai in with her index finger.

Neji stood and crossed his arms. "We may have gotten over a few of are differences but her personal life isn't something I wish to get involved in. I don't care who she's dating."

"What if she was dating Lee?" She asked, Ignoring Lee's protests and rant about Sakura.

". . ."

The silent glare the Hyuuga sent her was the only answer she needed. "See you do care!" Tenten accused with a smiled while their friend sat in the background feeling a little bullied.

Neji didn't say a word as he retreated into the house, bypassing Hinata without even looking at her.

Tenten giggled at Neji's tough guy act, he wasn't fooling anyone. Looking over at Lee she nodded her head toward the house. "Why don't you go with him."

"Tenten he like's to be left alone when he is mad. I don not think-"

"Since when has that ever stopped you before?" She asked, spinning the kunai faster. Noticing the boy not moving she timed her movement and flicked her wrist expertly, watching the boy move with unmatched speed as the kunai sunk into the ground. "Go, Lee." She said in a normal tone, a smile on her face.

Lee stared at her intensely for a whole five agonizing seconds before giving up with a sigh and following after Neji, giving Hinata a small farewell before leaving.

Tenten stood up grabbing the kunai along the way, scrapping the dirt off and putting it back. She walked over to Hinata , sat down next to her and before Hinata could get a word out she got straight to the point. "How's it going with Uzumaki?"

Hinata's face flushed heavily, partly at the mention of the boys name and partly at the bluntness of the girls question. Normally Sakura would start off with a greeting and ease her way into the subject. Ino might have been a little more blunt then Sakura, but she had never flat out asked what was going on.

Tenten was being completely forward about it.

"Oh, um w-well. . .It's fine. . ." She replied. What was she supposed to say to that. Usually it was 'Have you done this?' or 'what did you do?'.

Tenten blinked a couple times until she gave her an unamused look. "don't you mean, 'Great' or 'Amazing'. I mean it's no secret that you've liked the kid forever and now that your with him, it's just fine. What is he not all he's cracked up to be or something?" She was surprised at the younger girls answer.

Here was a girl that was head over heels for some guy that barley knew she existed. This kid should be all butterflies and sunshine. She should be wanting to sing to the top of her lungs and have a glowing smile the stretched a mile long. She should be able to describe this thing in hundreds of words and when she's asked about it all she can say is 'Fine'? Hell, no.

Hinata shook her head, her blush fading slightly. "It's not like that. N-Naruto's a wonderful person. . .but. . .He's just a. . .little. He's a little. . ." She stopped herself. Should she really be telling someone about what was going on?

"He's a little what, obnoxious, hyper, clueless to advances or. . .Is he rushing things? He does have that type of personality. . ." She said the last part to herself more then to Hinata who's red face was lit up once again at the thought of Tenten's last two suggestions.

Hinata wanted to run back inside and pretend that she hadn't heard it, but she knew it wouldn't do any good. "N-no. He's. . . . a little confused. S-so He's taking it. . .slow." Her voice got lower with each word and by the end over her sentence she had her face hidden behind her hands.

"Oh. How is he confused. It's been like month. He either like's you or he doesn't." She stated apparently holding some strong belief in what she said.

"I don't think. . .It's that simple. . .for him." She replied looking down. "He seems really confused. . ."

Tenten gave an exaggerated sigh. When wasn't that kid confused, how hard can it be to know how you feel about someone? Besides if everyone else can see it why couldn't he? "Well, it's your love life. Naruto might be a little slow but I think he'll come around, maybe not soon since this is Uzumaki we're talking about but, eventually."

Hinata smiled at the girls word of encouragement, well at least that's what she thought it was, and nodded. "I know, even if he doesn't. . .I -I just. . ."

The weapon master in training gave Hinata a playful smack on the arm. "Don't say that." She said, firmly. "He likes you. You shouldn't think that way. Remember to stay optimistic, you start thinking negatively and you'll get depressed."

The younger girl nodded again, Knowing that the other girl was trying to give her a better outlook but didn't know how to respond. She didn't want to lie to the other girl and say that she was right, because Hinata herself knew there was a good chance Naruto didn't feel the same way she did. She could hope all she wanted but it didn't change the reality.

If he didn't like her, she knew she wanted him to be happy, and it wouldn't make either of them happy if they lied about there feelings. But at the same time she didn't know what she would do. She never thought about anyone else, it was always Naruto. How long would it take her to get over him, if she could get over him at all.

But there was still the small chance that he did like her the same way, he was going through all this trouble, trying to spend time with her and confusing himself so that had to be a good sign.

The brunette stood up dusting off the dirt from her pants in a failing attempt to make them appear clean, however the dirt and grass stains clung to the fabric stubbornly. "Well I should go find Neji and Lee, there probably arguing by now or destroying your house." she mumbled smirking.

The other girl stood up with her, Not wanting to be a rude hostess. "I-I'll take you in. Neji's probably in the kitchen." She said leading her cousins teammate through the door, her mind never wandering off Naruto.

=-=-=-=-=-=-

Naruto heard the door to the Hokage's office slam behind him as he was thrown out painfully hitting his head on the wall across from him.

She hadn't been too much help when it came to him and Hinata. First she had constantly refused to tell him how he would know if he liked her the same way, told him to shut up about his teenage problems, and then threaten to take away his ninja career and put him to work as a Janitor at the Academy just so he could see all the future ninja in the making and mourn the loss of not only his most beloved occupation but his dream of being Hokage.

He however just stood at her desk giving her the same treatment he gave Iruka not even an hour before, and repeat his question. The Blonde woman surprisingly enough dropped any trace of anger from her face and gave him a warm smile, telling him "You'll know, when you know." then hand him his papers and sending him on his way.

Confused and angry at her even more confusing reply, he gave her an insult about her being too bitter and not knowing what she was talking about. Which was how he ended up with the lump on his head and the new bruise on his stomach.

Despite the pain he grinned down at the papers in his hand. Iruka had been right when he said that she wouldn't have a problem with it. Although she only gave him one day, still on guard that the woman she was interrogating had allies that would be looking for her, but at least he got the time off at all. Now the only problem was to figure out where to take Hinata. He could just ask her where she wanted to go, but where was the fun in that. It would be more fun to surprise her.

He had permission to leave the village, but he didn't want to go to far, it would waste time walking. Maybe some where just outside of town somewhere close to the village but far away enough where Sakura and the others couldn't go.

He should have asked Iruka where to take her. Then again if he couldn't figure out somewhere that the girl would like to go then how was he supposed to figure out anything else about her.

But how was he supposed get to know her if she was having a miserable time at wherever they ended up?

Scratching the back of his head, he walked out of the building. Maybe he could ask Neji about what she liked. Or Kiba and Shino would be better since Neji still didn't talk to her that much. Would it be cheating to ask someone about what she liked?

Would it really hurt to cheat?

Perhaps he should just find Hinata and talk to her about it first to see if she wanted to go anywhere., then he could figure out where to take her. It still didn't help that he had no idea on where to take her.

She seemed to like walking around the oasis when they where going to Sand. But it would take to long to get there not to mention bandits and enemy ninja that hid out there. It would be too risky and it wouldn't be much of a vacation if they ended up fighting.

The more he thought about it the more confused he was getting, and his confusion was starting to make him nervous about whether she would end up liking where the went.

Suddenly he was wishing he hadn't made his conversation with Iruka so short. He could have asked him where real couples went for dates, instead of trying to shuffle through his mind and think of something. Maybe he could ask-

No, He was trying to avoid her If she had any clue on where he was taking Hinata she'd find someway to spy on them.

Walking down the streets towards his home, Naruto, stuffed the papers in his pocket carelessly and started to manuver around the civilians as the streets got crowded. Maybe he should ask Hinata. This whole thing was about getting to know her better, and one step to get to know her better would be to find out where she liked to go.

That sounded logical, right?

* * *

**_Yep another chapter done. now if I can get the next chapter out quicker I'll be happy-er. . .yeah. I should probably start thinking up some ideas for future chapters then, huh. lol._**


	22. A spark of Jealousy

**_Okay, I lied, I wasn't quick. I just got so stuck! The chapter might have came out a little crappy since I sort of forced my self to push through the parts I got stuck on. Yeah. . .But hopefully this is enough to satisfy whoevers reading. _ **

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto_**

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Step 12 - A Spark of Jealousy

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Sakura stood with her posture perfectly straight, shoulders back, hands on her hips and pulling of a mix of looking confused and scowling. Ino stood next to her trying to remind her that they were standing in the middle of a busy street, but she was ignored as the pink haired girl was accessing deeper parts of her mind trying to figure out where Naruto and Hinata had run off to.

She had checked Naruto house that morning, wanting to know where he had been all day yesterday, but he wasn't there. He wasn't at the training ground or getting ramen. So deciding that he was avoiding her she swung by Hinata's house but not even her father was there to answer the door. Hinata should have been there since nothing was going on recently and Naruto wasn't around. The she tracked Kiba down, which wasn't too hard since he was the only one that was home, but he hadn't seen Hinata for the past couple of days, said that she was either with Naruto or training with Neji or her Father. She didn't even bother with Shino, He wouldn't have told her anything if he did know.

So if both of them were missing and Hinata wasn't with her family and Naruto wasn't with one of his friends that meant they were together somewhere. Which meant they were probably on a date, but why couldn't se find them? Naruto had never been this good at avoiding her. He was usually to busy paying attention to something else to notice. Where were they?

Ino glared at her pink haired friend irritated. At first She was excited to get to the bottom of the mystery of the missing couple, but now it was just getting ridiculous. They obviously didn't want to be found and made very good plans to ensure that they weren't. "Sakura, Give it up we're not going to find them. You've already checked with Kiba, and he doesn't knowing anything. Neither of them were home, and we haven't found them for the whole three hours we've been looking. Maybe that idiot of a teammate of yours smartened up and found away to dodge you." She said and watched the girl turn her glowering face on her. The blonde put up a hand in defense, deciding not to engage in a verbal war just yet.

"Kiba you liar!!" Sakura shouted turning around and running back the way she came.

Ino jumped went Sakura yelled out suddenly and made turned around once again to head back to the Inuzuka's. However curious she was about what Sakura was yelling about, She still hesitated cautiously before following.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Naruto and Hinata had left before just as the sun was coming up. To Hinata it sounded sweet. Walking down a path holding hands with Naruto as the sun came up. However the real reason behind the early departure kept the warm fuzzy feelings, that she pictures as furry cute creatures with wide innocent eyes, at bay with a tall wall, adorned with bloody spikes that stuck out in every direction. The poor creatures.

The real reason they left so early was because Naruto thought it would be a good idea if they left before any of there friends got up. That way they didn't bump into anyone an explain why they had a days worth of supplies with them or why they were leaving the village. Of course they would be questioned when they got back, but the blonde males theory was that, Sakura, who would be the one looking for them wouldn't figure out that they weren't in the village until it was too late and then she couldn't get permission from Tsunade to leave.

She wouldn't complain though, She got to hold his hand while they walked, now they were sitting together just finishing the small snack that Hinata had prepared the night before and soon they would be walking and she could hold his hand again.

Naruto looked at the girl who was smiling to her self as she looked down at the grass by her feet, wondering what she was thinking about. They hadn't talked much while they where walking. It wasn't the awkward feeling that had kept them from talking, or the fact that he didn't know what to say. He just felt like he didn't have to.

He didn't have to.

It was a something that Naruto would have liked to believe. It would have been so much simpler if he didn't have to talk to her. But as Iruka had brought to his attention, he didn't knowing anything about Hinata, Nothing that he needed to know anyway. He knew she was a good fighter. That she was good person. That she forgave way too easily. Her eye's where this pale light purple color. She got embarrassed easily and she had a habit of blushing and her hand always found away to make her nervousness clear to the world. It was cute. Naruto felt a smile that he didn't bother to hide.

What he didn't know was everything else about her, her favorite color, what kind of music she liked, when her birthday was or what her dreams where. Things like that. Things that he should know, but she already knew all those things. She had been watching him for years, slowly learning about his different habits and what foods he liked. She probably knew where he went to hide after he pulled off pranks. Maybe he should be more worried then flattered, but he couldn't bring himself to feel threatened by Hinata.

"What is it?" Hinata asked, looking up from her feet.

"What do you mean?" his smile dropped quickly. Not knowing what she was talking about.

Hinata let out a small laugh, "You. . .you were smiling." She said, a light blush surfacing.

Seeing the blush Naruto smiles again, only causing the blush to darken. Did she blush every time someone was paying attention to her or was it just him? He wished it was just him but, was that blush ever going to not be there? Or was she not able to keep her face from lighting up? If not, he hoped she would never be able to find a way. "It's nothing but we should get moving, towns only a few minutes ahead and we should get there before noon. Otherwise we won't have a lot of time to spend there before we have to leave." He stood up, and grabbed the things he used to eat shoving them back in the bag.

Hinata stood slowly, where Naruto was hastily packing his things Hinata was slowly putting one thing in at a time. She didn't see the need to hurry. It didn't matter where they were, she waited longer then he seemed to realize for him to notice her in the way he was now. She wasn't going to get picky on where they went on a dates, they could go shopping for dish soap and she would be happy as long as she was with him.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked looking at her with doubt as he heaved his bag back over his shoulder for the second time that morning. "Did you want to go somewhere else? Or do you want to go back home?" He asked her worried about whether or not she was just doing this because he asked her or if she actually wanted to .

The Hyuuga girl smiled at him brightly. "No, Every thing is fine Naruto. I. . .I just didn't . . .don't see the reason to rush. This d-date was for us to be able to spend time alone together. But. . . whether we're here or there it wouldn't matter because we would be together." She said finally packing the last thing away and sliding the bag over her shoulders.

"But don't you want to walk around town and have fun? You know walk around and look in the store, maybe buy a few things, have a good lunch. They might have a small festival or something going on? Maybe they'll have some games."

Hinata shook her head, taking a couple, timid, steps forward. "that doesn't matter to me right now Naruto." She said looking back down to her feet. "Right now. . .I. . .we. . ." She was starting to stumble over her words. It could have been worse though, she could have fainted from the lack of distance between them that she had caused. Taking a deep breath she started again. "I-I mean. . .just being with you is fine right now."

Naruto stared at her blankly for a second. Was she serious? She didn't want him to take her out to lunch or buy her some kind of necklace or expensive over priced and over fluffed stuffed animal? What about the whole day they had planned out the night before? She was fine just staying here in this spot with him, by the river, doing nothing. "Really?" He asked out loud without meaning to.

The girl laughed and wrapped her arms around him, hiding her face in his jacket, ignorant to the dark shade cover his face that matched hers almost perfectly. "Yes, It's fine for now." It came out muffled through the fabric. "Next time however, I want to go back to Sand and I want you to buy me that diamond and sapphire Necklace that was hanging in the window at the jewelry store." She said jokingly as Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Have you been hanging around Ino?" the blonde asked as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Naruto, Ino's a good person. She's just a little. . .she has a taste for finer things." Hinata mumbled, pulling back slightly to look up at him.

Naruto frowned at the girls polite attitude. He thought it was one of her good qualities, but where did she get it from? "You know that's just a nice way of saying she's materialistic?"

Hinata shook her head violently. "Th-that's not what I meant! She's a good person. She's loyal, strong, confident and she's optimistic! She re-"

Naruto Pulled Hinata back into the hug, laughing. "I know, Hinata. I'm just joking around." He said before letting her go. It took him a second to realize she didn't move. He held back a grin. "Let's go into town and get a few things, Then we'll come back and spend the rest of the time here. Sound good?"

Hinata nodded into his chest before pulling away, her face completely red. She was happy that Naruto would blow off his plans of going into town to spend the day out here with her, but she did wonder if he could take the calm and quiet for a whole day.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Kiba leaned back in a chair, his foot propped against the leg of the desk as he pushed of with little force causing the chair to tilt back. He had been doing this for the past three minutes since he arrived at the Aburame's house, grinning like the self confident teen he was. "She completely fell for it. All I had to do was stay calm and tell her I hadn't seen either of them for a couple days and her and Ino both walked away. . .She probably realized I was lying by now though." He said still happy with himself.

Shino didn't even look up from his book as he spoke. "May I ask why you lied to her instead of simply telling her that you weren't going to tell her in the first place?"

"What fun is there in that? Seriously if I told her I wasn't going to say anything she would be bugging me all day for information."

"So, instead you devised this 'brilliant' plan to lie and hide out at my house till she forgets about you?" He asked, glancing over to see Kiba give a toothy grin. "Sounds like a childish game of cat and mouse if you ask me." Shino said quietly, moving his eyes back on the book.

Kiba's grin fell and he gave Shino a sharp look. "What are you talking about?" his voice came out just as low, with a growl.

"Nothing at all, Inuzuka." He replied, taking Kiba's warning tone with amusement. Though he would avoid the subject for now. "But perhaps, you'd do best if it was Sakura on the other end of this game, I don't believe planning ahead is one of your stronger traits. You'd be better off if you were the one tracking her down."

Kiba glare worsened but the threatening voice was gone. "Let me guess you would of came up with something better." He snapped crossing his arms angrily in front of him.

"No, I would have told her up front that I wasn't going to tell her. . .Kiba do you really think she won't look for you here?" He asked flipping a page from his book, taking little notice of how Kiba stopped rocking his chair for a moment. Not out of fear but thought.

"No, she won't. As far as she's concerned we don't get along well enough to be hanging out." Kiba started, ignoring shino's small statement of 'we don't'. "Besides, you have a habit of aggravating the most patient of people and I don't think Sakura would even bother coming to you to ask for information on were they went, she knows she can't make you talk. So I'm safe here."

Shino stared at his friend for a moment wondering if Kiba actually put more thought into his plan then he original thought. However Kiba forgot two details. Sakura was smart enough figure out what Kiba was up to. She was probably already searching for Kiba now. Plus, Sakura wasn't as stupid as to believe that Kiba and Shino hated each other, even if they did argue a lot. She had to put up with Naruto and Sasuke's constant fighting. Shino was positive that Sakura could see past there small argument.

Then there was the fact that maybe Kiba could have found somewhere less suspecting to go to, like maybe the deserted Hyuuga place or run off to the forest for a while, if he had Akamaru with him it would have been easy to evade the pink haired girl.

Kiba had really just created a game of cat and mouse, and he had already cornered himself.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Naruto held Hinata's hand as they made their way through the small shop. They weren't getting anything big, just a few snacks to last them the remainder of the day. Niether of them had planned for them to be spending the day out by the river so they hadn't packed for that.

Naruto saw Hinata looking over a few bags in thought before picking up one of them and placing them in the grocery basket that he had insisted on carrying. They had spent most of the walk here and most of there time walking in the store in a certain type of silence that he couldn't explain.

Every so often on of them would pick something up and show it to the other who would nod or shake there head and it would either be placed in the basket or put back on the shelf.

In all honesty while the silence was calming it was driving Naruto crazy. He wanted to talk, about what? He didn't know, He just wanted some type noise. He would admit with pride that he wasn't the silent type. He was loud, hyper and he needed some kind of noise he couldn't stick with this silent communication for long. But, Hinata, seemed to be fine with this. Just walking side by side with out a word. She was quiet by nature, though.

He was completely the opposite of Hinata. How did she end up liking him so much? He couldn't be a good match for her could he? Wouldn't she get annoyed with him at some point. Probably not seeing as Hinata never got annoyed with anyone, but would she think she made a mistake or something?

Naruto looked over at Hinata who was looking at drinks, not paying attention to much around her. The blonde however was and he wound up glaring at one of the guys stocking the shelves for looking at Hinata for a couple seconds to long.

Hinata really wasn't paying attention, but she felt Naruto's hand tense up. She looked back him and saw him glaring at one of the workers. She looked between them curiously, wondering what happened in the fifteen seconds she had her back turned. "Naruto?"

He looked over at Hinata quickly grinning at her. "N-nothing. Let's just hurry up and get back to the river, okay?" He said laughing sheepishly, pretending not to notice her curious stare. His grin fell as she turned around. He looked back over to where the guy was, but the man had left. Sighing Naruto went back to waiting for Hinata.

Hinata on the other hand, knew Naruto had just diverted her attention. She wasn't completely oblivious. She knew he was mad about something. He was tense a moment ago and glaring at some stranger. Did Naruto recognize him from somewhere, or maybe thought he might be a spy?

Would Naruto really be thinking like that while they were on a date? Hinata reminded herself harshly that they were never not allowed to think like that. Once you where a ninja you stayed a ninja whether your on a mission or not. But that didn't mean they couldn't have a life outside there line of work right? Hinata smiled and placed the drinks in the basket. "Do you think that's enough?"

Naruto looked at the thing they chose, nodding. It was actually more then enough but he wouldn't voice opinion on it. There could be the possibility that he could get extra hungry during the day and if he put any of the food back, he wouldn't have it later. And there was no way he was bringing Hinata back here. It would just waste their time.

Besides He didn't like the workers too much.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

Hinata looked at him, wondering if maybe it was a bad idea to go out so early in the morning. Naruto was never really a morning person and he was starting to space out. ". . .we can leave now. . ." she stated hesitantly, watching him carefully. Was he getting sick?

Hearing a poorly hidden laugh Hinata glanced behind the counter, seeing the worker that Naruto was glaring at earlier. He was obviously laughing at Naruto, but Hinata herself didn't see the humor in some one that she felt so strongly for, acting stranger then normal. It was actually worrisome.

Naruto looked at the bags in her hands scratching the back of is head. Exactly how did she get everything away from him without him noticing? And why was she looking at that other guy? "S-sorry! Yeah we should get going! We only have so much time left!" He said grabbing her free hand and dragging her out the store. They definitely were not coming back.

What was he talking about? They had until eleven at night and It was seven in the morning. Didn't they just discuss this before they went to the store? That there wasn't a need to rush anything? Sure Naruto's memory wasn't the best but he couldn't have forgotten that already. Maybe it was that guy from the store. Did they know each other?

------

Naruto let go of Hinata's hand once he was sure he couldn't see the store anymore. As he let go, he looked at Hinata. Something felt off. Maybe it wasn't really Hinata. 'That's way too paranoid!' he thought, still looking at her. It couldn't have been something that big. Maybe it was something small. Then he noticed that she was still carrying the bags.

Wasn't he supposed to do that? The guy was supposed to offer to carry the bags, right. Great leave it to him to screw up a common ritual of a gentlemen. Of course, he wasn't really a gentlemen. That was probably why, instead of asking he decided to just take the bags from Hinata.

Looking up startled as the bags were gently yanked from her grasp, she saw Naruto placing them in his other hand not even looking at her. She smiled anyway, Naruto apparently had his own way of asking to carry the bags. She used both her free hands to grab his on free hand, Pulling him down slightly, kissing him quickly on the cheek and then resting her head on his shoulder briefly in a silent thank you. When she looked up at him again she could see a blush on his face, she smiled again, blushing. She had made him blush.

Naruto knew his face was red, but he wasn't expecting that from Hinata, especially in the middle of a crowed street. He wasn't use to having her pulling stunts like that. She was just so shy, it wasn't bad, it was actually fun, just, unexpected. He glanced at her and grinned, her face was just as lit up as his own.

Good, he wasn't alone in the glowing face category.

Hinata tugged on Naruto's hand gently. "Let's go get everything set up. Maybe Sakura won't notice we were gone today."

"Yeah right, with a friend like Sakura, we'll never be that lucky." the blonde laughed following Hinata's small tug. "Actually if you can get that nosy girl interested, you'll never need to hire a private detective!"

"Naruto. . ." Hinata didn't finish her sentence. There wasn't a reason to, He didn't mean anything serious by the words, Sakura was one of his best friends. He'd always stick up for her. Besides, It was who Naruto was. He would always joke around like this, Sakura was a stalker, the Hokage nick name would always be 'granny' and anyone who Naruto had met would be a victim of his mischievous nature. The way he was now was the same way he had always been, she wouldn't change that.

* * *

Umm. . .Not much I can say is there? lol . . .Please be patient while I work on the next chapter? . . .or curse me in your minds until it gets updated. that's what I do. . .


	23. Communication

**_Sorry!! Incase you didn't read my profile, MY computer died. The motherboard or something sorta died on me and I didn't have a computer for a little while. I did not Abandon this story. I just had to restart this chapter all over again along with other stuff I was working on. . .I have the worst luck with computers. . .or and elctroic type think for that matter, My DS broke in half, my Wii broke, My PS2 is starting to act wierd, my new computer died in within a year. . .oh and the antenna to my radeo got chewed off by my dog. Yeah, bad luck with anything that can entertain my short attention span for more then ten minutes gets destroyed apperantly. Anyway this is my cousins computer so. . .yeah she was nice and let me hook it up in my room, of course that means I have less time on it since I sort of HAVE to let her use it. not that she wouldn't anyway. . ._**

**_Um. . .Yeah I only had very little memmory of where I was going with this part of the story, you know the 'good' date part, but I think i did a good job with picking up from where I left off. Sorry if this chapters short and seems cut off at the end, I just couldn't think of a way to end this chapter. . .But yeah I'll stop wasting your time now._**

**_Disclaimer : I do NOT own Naruto_**

**Step 13 - Communication**

* * *

'Dammit, Shino, why did you let her in!' Kiba screamed in his head as he stayed in his hiding place. Cramped and curled into himself in the corner of Shino's closet behind a box of something he was sure hi didn't want to know about and hidden by the oversized coats and mission gear.

He could hear Sakura and Shino walking up the steps, Shino's steps were calm and balanced. Sakura's wear confident, quick and hard, unlike her usual light and steady way over walking.

And all this was to find out where naruto had gone off to with Hinata? What was she going to do follow them? Then what find her next victim to drag along. Seriously, did she have to stick her nose in Naruto personal life all the time? If she was dog she would have gotten swatted with a newspaper.

"So, Where is he?"

Sakura's voice covered be a false contentment. Shino, picked up on it quickly but, ignored the underlying anger. The situation wasn't that serious. If she found Kiba he would just mock her then run off somewhere else. Then he could have his peace and quiet again. "Hiding."

Sakura raised a curious eyebrow and pointed to the bed. "May I?" She asked with unwarranted politeness as she walked over and pulled on the skirt of the bed..

"I harbor no secrets." Shino replied as he sat at his desk picking up a book he hadn't finished. Sakura would be silent until she found her prey or felt a need to lure it out.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"-And they bloomed! Ino helped out a lot, She guided me through the whole thing."

Naruto listened carefully holding Hinata's hand in his own as she told him about when she first learned to grow flowers. It was a small hobby she had. He had found out that more about her in one day then he had since they started dating. Like how she stuck up bird feeders and other animal habitats on her clans property so she could see the different types of wildlife without having to go far.

That she didn't have a favorite color or animal, But she did prefer fruits over meat and her favorite time was right before sunrise. She did like to train, she just didn't like the thought of actually hurting someone, but she understood that on mission it would have to be done sooner or later.

He also found out that she used to follow him around a lot, trying to get the courage to tell him about how she felt.

Like Iruka had said, it was small things about her that he never noticed before that maybe he should have. Somethings he did notice and just didn't know that he had picked up on, like her blushing or the way she walked when she was thinking. Looking down but keeping her head straight, and she would bring her hands in front of her and it would look as if she was having one of her shyness episodes but, her hands wouldn't move nearly as much and her face would remain a normal color.

"That's great Hinata!" He said grinning at her. He really didn't have any interest in the plants but, accomplishing something as simple as growing a flower seemed to give Hinata a bit happiness and he didn't want to ruin that for her.

Hinata could tell that Naruto wasn't interested in the flowers, but she did notice he wasn't going to stop her anytime soon. She had tried to tell the story as quickly as possible to save him from boredom, it seemed to have worked since his grin didn't look immensely strained afterwards.

The blonde had seemed like a curious child today, asking questions about her since the morning and going on nonstop. He had even asked her if she preferred warm meals or cold meals and not once had he commented negatively on any of it. Hinata knew that he didn't like everything she did, and she could tell what he didn't like by the faces he made every now and then

Hinata looked up at him, He was gazing up at the sky which seemed to be darkening more quickly then usual. Most likely a storm on it's way. "Hey Naruto, why are you asking so many questions?"

"Huh?" He looked down, confused.

"N-nevermind. I was just. . .It's nothing." She stuttered, turning pink because of it. Did she really even need to know why he was asking questions? She should have been happy at all that he was even there with her. How could she ask such a question.

She could feel Naruto shrug. But she didn't turn to look at him, still pink and unwilling to speak again.

The blonde looked at the girl, amused. He didn't know why she was so emarassed by her question but as long as he could see her blush it wasn't going to bother him. "Well, Iruka said that, it was a good idea to find out more about you before I. . .anyway you seemed to know a lot about me, so why shouldn't I know stuff about you?"

"Iruka-sensei?"

"Yeah, I wasn't going to listen to him, but then when we got to that spot, and I started thinking I realized it wasn't fair. You know more about me then I thought you did. I don't know anything about you." Naruto found himself unable to look at her and instead glued his eye's back to the dark grey clouds. Nothing he said was coming out the way he wanted it to. Why couldn't he just tell her?

Hinata didn't look up, but she took everything Naruto said in, processing it with record speed. She knew what he was saying. It wasn't easy to decipher, but she picked up on it. She smiled to herself and squeezed his hand gently. "Does it matter to you to you because it's unfair to you or because it's unfair to m-me?"

She didn't receive an immediate answer and looked up at Naruto. "Either way, You don't need to learn everything at once."

Naruto was amazed and confused. Amazed that somehow she seemed to know what he was thinking, and confused by what her last piece of advice was referring to. 'Learn everything at once.'? he had a feeling that she wasn't just talking about him learning about herself.

Hinata pulled on Naruto's hand gently, offering a small distraction she knew he needed. He would get even more confused if he thought on it too much. "We should hurry up before the rain gets here." She said starting to pull him along.

"You mean before Granny decides to send someone to look for us?" the blond said smirking watching the girl resist an urge to smile at his nickname for the woman.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Kiba! Get out of there right now!" Sakura shouted glaring at the door. She had been standing outside that bathroom door for a good two and a half minutes, having a shouting match with the Inuzuka member on the other side.

"Sakura, I don't think shouting for prolong periods of time is going to cause Kiba to stray away from the protection my bathroom is giving him." Shino stated calmly, however he was starting to get a bit annoyed with his home being used as the battle ground for the two.

"You better watch it, Shino!!" Kiba yelled from the Aburame's bathroom, irritated by his teammates words.

It took only a couple seconds for her brain to come up with a reason for kiba's threat towards the male standing next to her, and she narrowed her eyes suspisciously "Shino, did you word that sentence just so you can put 'stray' in the same sentence with 'Kiba'?"

Shino didn't respond to her question and instead opted to knock on the door. "Kiba you can't stay in there. Eventually, someone will have to use the facilities."

"Tell that nosy witch to leave first!"

"No." The owner of the bathroom stated bluntly, already getting fed up with the game Kiba had started.

"Damn you, Shino! Why did you even let her in here to begin with?!" Kiba snapped out the question even though he didn't even really care why in the first place. His best friend had betrayed him, that's all that matter.

"I saw no reason to keep her out." Shino replied in a low mumble, bored.

Even while she stood next to him Sakura had to strain her ears to hear him, but Kiba had now problems picking up on what his friend had said, hearing the words loud and clear. "Of course you didn't. You didn't offend her non-existent sleuth-skills." He shouted, looking around the bathroom, smirking as he caught sight of the window.

The pink haired girl glared murderously at the door as she leaned against the opposite wall. The only thing stopping her from braking down the door was the common sense that it was Shino's bathroom door. Breaking it would result in a lack of privacy until it could be fixed, and the fact she would have to pay for the damage.

"You can't hide for ever you tick infested mutt!!" She yelled at him hoping the door would shatter unexplainably in her favor or at least provoke Kiba to come out on his own.

They were met with silence however and Sakura looked over at Shino curiously, probably thinking he had the answers. He didn't but he had a way of getting them. He walked to the bathroom door and he let a small beetle crawl off his finger and onto the floor. The bug disappeared under the door.

"So did he realize he can't stay in there forever?" she asked watching Shino curiously.

There was a moment that Sakura thought Shino was starting to ignore her, but as the detached as the beetle returned, he stood up straight.

"Yes." he replied. Backing away from the door with an unreadable expressoin.

"So then I guess he's siting there brooding and trying to find a way out, frying his few remaining brain cells thinking up another failure of a plan." She crossed her arms in arrogance secretly plotting the Inuzuka's downfall.

"No."

"What?"

"He escaped out the bathroom window." Shino stated like it should have been obvious already and started to walk back to his room. He didn't have time for this, he had more important things to do.

"Damn you, Shino, why didn't you say that sooner!" Sakura shouted running off towards the nearest exit.

Shino let a fleeting look of irritation pass over his face. She should have saw that move ahead of time, and was it really necessary for both of them to curse his name for their misfortune? Was it his fault that they were acting like they were five?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Naruto and Hinata finally arrived back at the village, just as it started to drizzle. But even though it was a light rain they knew it would start pouring soon.

Hinata was happy that she was home, but at the same time she wasn't. She didn't want to go home and leave Naruto's side. It was the first time they had truly gotten time to themselves, no mission, no interferences and no friends to spy on them to see how they where doing or to snap photo's of them in poses they deemed 'cute'.

Kiba had shown her a picture he had gotten from Sakura of her and Naruto holding hands on the training field.

It was embarrassing.

However their date was nice, relaxing, and worry free. They had spent most of the time just talking. Even though Hinata was still curious about the incident at the store. Naruto had acted strangely for a little while after that. She had asked him about it only once but, he just shook his head and told her it wasn't anything to worry about.

She wasn't going to keep asking, it probably wasn't any of her concern anyway. If he was ever going to tell her, he would tell her when he thought he should.

The blonde was still feeling a trace of lingering jealousy, he didn't like the feeling. It always came accompanied by anger and then sometimes even a sad feeling. Right now it was anger, the only thing that was keeping him from yelling out his thoughts to the girl on arm was the simple fact that, that guy was a couple miles away and away from Hinata.

He knew he shouldn't feel the emotion, It wasn't like Hinata was going to chase after someone for years then suddenly drop them because someone else showed interest in her. Why would anyone even waste their time trying to get someone if they were going to drop them so quickly anyway? It was pointless.

How many guys were interested in her? Did she even realize that the store boy was looking at her? She hadn't said anything if she did. She didn't blush when she saw him so maybe there was a chance she didn't even have a quick thought about the guy in that sort of way.

Was she that oblivious to the guys behavior?

". . .Hinata?" Naruto'asked hesitantly as they continued walking towards her home. The rain was starting to pour.

Hinata gave him a curious look, adjusting her bag on her shoulder with her free hand. "What is it?" she was pulled to a stop, making her look at the blond apprehensively. Why would he stop it was raining, they were going to get sick if they stood around to long.

"How many guys do you know that, _like_, you?" He asked

Hinata's face practically caught fire at the bluntness of his question. What was he thinking about that would cause him to ask such a question out of the blue? ". . .e-eh. . .?" How was she supposed to answer that, as far as she knew she couldn't answer that.

Naruto fidgeted in his spot nervously. Maybe that wasn't such a good question, but it was bothering him! Who else would he have to watch out for and how many did he actually have to worry about? "Hinata?"

The girl shook her head, "I-I. . .I can't answer that. I. . .I don't know. I didn't think anyone would. . ."

"Oh. . ."

He didn't know what else to say to her answer. He was slightly dissappointed but he was even more happy. She hadn't noticed the guy at the store, she didn't even think that anyone had showed interest in her.

Which most likely meant that the question probably made her realize that, to her at least, no one thought she was dating material. And he was the one who brought it up. . .

Happy feeling was gone now, replaced by a harsh inner loathing and panic. "I-I don't think that's true, I mean you must have. . .Well you probably never noticed because you were to busy chasing me!" The setence left his mouth and then he noticed what he had said.

He started trying to correct himself, not able to completely tell her what he wanted to say. Although he thought he was getting closer.

Hinata blinked. She was sure that he didn't mean for it to sound so conceited or make her sound pathetic, but she wasn't sure how she should respond to his statement. She was raised in a way that told her in a situaution like this, were someone was trying to make you feel better. It would be rude to laugh. She just wasn't sure if she could hold it in.

Smiling, with a small sound that Naruto could swear was a giggle, the hyuuga girl shook her head.

"Naruto, I-"

"You brainless mutt!"

Sakura's angered shout came from no where and hinata and Naruto both looked around until they saw both Sakura and Kiba standing face to face, both red with anger and it appeared Sakura had cornered Kiba between the wall of a building and a pile of boxes.

However Kiba didn't look scared whatsoever when he shouted back with a slight snarl "Nosy skank."

"Oh please that's hardly an intelligent come-back, What's wrong, Kiba, did you kill off the remaining brain cells from too many dog biscuits?" Sakura was apperantly trying to find a weak spot to poke.

"You know, just because your brain has been allowed extra room to grow, doesn't mean you should show it off, Haruno, It's really not attractive!" To bad kiba already knew one of hers.

"Ha! The only girl that could ever love you would have to be blind or deaf because noone in their right mind would be able to deal with both your looks and your stupidity." She stated still attacking his intelligence but now going onto his looks as well.

"Your one to talk about looks. Short matted bristly hair, stiff facial expression, and not to mention you practically look like a guy!" He shout back glaring.

The girls shoulders straightened out with the tension building up, Key signs of anger. That comment seem to hit her ego hard, making Kiba grin.

"Excuse me! You're the one without a girl attached to your arm. Atleast I have guys that like me!"

Kiba snorted out a laugh. "Yeah one moved on, the others a nutcase , and all the others are just desperate."

"Ass!" She yelled throwing a kunai at him with extra force.

Kiba moved back a step watching the projectile plant itself nearly all the way into the dirt. He looked back up at sakura with a smirk. ". . .And no one in there right minds would want a psychotic rampaging pink haired harpy who had PMS every day of the year!"

Sakura took a deep breath trying to calm her self. Okay maybe Kiba had a point on that one, throwing a weapon at a comrade wasn't the greatest move. But just the same he, a guy, shouldn't put the mention 'the curse'. ". . . Never mind, scratch my last remark, Your idiocy is perfect for women."

". . ."

This time it was her who smirked. "Your much more easier to train this way."

Kiba looked like he was ready to attack the girl standing not even a foot across from him. "At least I could get someone. No guy wants a woman who emasculates them just by standing there." He growled out with disdain.

"You have a lot of room to talk for a guy with perfectly manicured nails!" Sakura yelled, giving Kiba the same hateful glare.

"There claws, Poindexter."

"So origanal. . .At least if you did have kids you won't have to spend money on toys. They can use your head as a rattle!"

Kiba growled again, and opened his mouth to yell out another insult, but a quieter voice stopped him.

"Um. . .Kiba, Sakura?" Hinata hesitated, but she was worried that there arguement would get out of hand. Maybe the fact that they had been spending to much time together recently was the cause of there random and easily instigated spats. "Is everything okay?"

Sakura smiled at Hinata in a way that was a little unnerving. When sakura looked innocently happy nothing good ever happened.

" Hey, you two! Where have you been all day?" the pink haired girl asked with a sugary tone as she placed her arms behind her back and smiled sweetly.

The question sounded normal enough but The look on Naruto's face told Hinata that it held another purpose.

"Forget it Sakura. No one's telling you. We found a secret spot where you can't find us and your never going to find it, so drop it." He said with a dead-panned expression, ignoring the fake hurt look she gave him and the snickering Kiba. She had gone from the, over protective, worrying, sister type to the nosy, gotta-know-what-there-doing, type. At least she wasn't trying to tell him what he should do and how he should do it.

But really, what if him and hinata got married? Was she going to spy on them durning the Honey-moon too? He was positive there was varies types of laws on that sort of thing. But even Sakura knew when to stay away, right?

He hoped so, cause that would be creepy.

* * *

**Like I said not a good leave off point. . .but you could alway imagine them walking away with a laughing Kiba a, cresfallen Sakura and that Naruto walks her home like a gentlemen. . .Or whatever else you want, your mind. **

**But yeah like usual. . .Blah blah . . .let me know of mistakes and errors and all that. . .And let me know if your still reading, that would be nice. And pray that my next electronical device doesn't suddenly get damaged from random causes.**


	24. The Annoying Competition

**_Another chapter done, maybe a little rushed. At least it was quicker then my last update right? Um. . .Can't really say much about it I guess. But Enjoy! _**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto_**

**Step 14 - The Annoying Competition**

* * *

Hinata wasn't the most on-guard person of the village. She knew that. So if someone wanted to follow her around she wouldn't notice unless she had her byaakugan activated. That was probably why she was placed on the same team with Shino, who was observant and alert and Kiba who could hear and smell almost as well as Akamaru.

However how could she not notice the person who had been following her around the village for the past couple hours at a close distance and who had no intention of hiding themselves. Every time she stopped he would stop, lean against whatever was close to him and smile like he wasn't up to anything.

She wasn't afraid, he didn't seem to be a threat, a normal civilian boy who just so happened to be following her. The reason why he was following her was a mystery though She couldn't remember seeing his face around the village at all, but he did look familiar.

Grabbing her bag from the vendor she gave the man what she hoped was a stern look before walking away straight into the crowded streets that she usually tried to avoid.

That was a small mistake, since now she couldn't pinpoint his footsteps. She couldn't tell what direction he was in or how far away he was. But, maybe he couldn't find her either. She doubted it though, she had made plenty of attempts to lose him all morning, ending in failure. How he found her after she had ducked in an alley and concealed herself on a rooftop until he was out of sight she had no idea. She had even hid inside Ichiraku's until he was gone, but after a few minutes of walking around he would appear again.

She wasn't one who was easily angered, but she was starting to feel the beginning symptoms of the emotion. She was slightly annoyed at the man for following her, if he had an issue or a question why didn't he just confront her and ask.

Making her way to the other side of the populated streets she scanned the crowed behind her, searching for that guy. When she didn't find him she wove her way out of the crowed and back on her original path, heading home.

Shifting the bags in her hands she wondered if Naruto ever noticed her following him or if he got annoyed by it. Perhaps he noticed, but was more curious as to why she was following him then angry that she was. Probably both.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Naruto was bored.

Very, very bored. He wanted to hang out with Hinata more but she had to run errands for her father this morning. Kiba and Shino went out to train sometime before the crack of dawn and Lee, Neji and Tenten were on a mission. Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji were all at Ino's father's shop helping out for the big sale that they were throwing.

At least Sakura didn't have anything to do, but all she would talk about was how immature Kiba was and kept on bugging him about where they were yesterday.

Sighing Naruto gave a quick look around the streets, wondering if he could escape from Sakura's persistent inquiries of the date. However if he did manage to get away he would no long have anyone to socialize with until Hinata was free. If she ever got free.

"Sakura, I'm not telling you!" Naruto yelled, angry but his voice was mixed with a pleading tone, he was practically begging her to stop questioning him. "Stop asking where we were."

Sakura huffed, not liking the fact that she was excluded from Hinata and Naruto's secret getaway. It wasn't fair that Shino and Kiba knew and she didn't.

She stayed silent for a moment, pouting, arms crossed, walking a slightly hunched over. Suddenly she lit up, "Will you at least tell me how it went?" Maybe if they started talking about it, the location would slip or she would get clues to where it was.

Naruto looked at her from the corner of his eye, cautiously. "It went fine."

"That's it?" She asked defeated and angry again. "You didn't talk about anything in particular or hold hands or kiss or anything. . . want to know, Naruto!" She shouted standing in front of him, stopping him from walking any further.

Naruto stopped and blinked at her lack of control. Smirking, he placed his hands behind his head and looked up at the sky. "Too bad Kiba and Shino are out training, you could probably ask them. Kiba might brake down if you throw enough kunai at him." He stated simply, chancing a glance back at Sakura.

Her eye was twitching, her hands were balled up into fist and he was pretty sure the only reason he was unharmed was because, she was trying to make up for her outburst yesterday. However what caught his attention was the blush that, painted itself on her face.

The blondes smirk turned into a grin. "Sakura's blushing!" He shouted out to noone, laughing as her blush darkened.

The girl glared at her friend and tried her best not to wrap her clench fist around his throat and shake him. "Shut up, Naruto!" She hissed at him. She wasn't sure why she was lowering her voice so drastically. She shouldn't have gotten this embarrassed over a small outburst. It wasn't like it was the first time she had lashed out. "Me losing my temper has nothing to do with you and Hinata!" She snapped, this time making sure her voice was normal.

"Of course it does. You wouldn't of lost your temper if you and Kiba never got in that fight. Which happened because you were chasing him around town trying to find out where we were."

"Well if you hadn't left the village without telling me where you were going, I wouldn't have gotten into that argument!"

"The point was to get away from you guys. That's why we left!"

"Well maybe if you didn't I wouldn't have to pursue Kiba for the answers everyti-!" She paused at her own words and stared ahead blankly.

Naruto, seeing her expression replayed the words over in his own mind and let them sink in for a minute before speaking again, this time his amusement was obvious. "Um. . .Sakura. . ."

"Shut up, I Know." she growled crossing her arms again. The conversation was going nowhere, no matter what Naruto kept bringing up her incident with Kiba. Stupid, Naruto, the guy wasn't even relevant to the point of the conversation.

Still smiling, Naruto wonder whether or not, Sakura, really knew. The way she phrased her remark, he felt like laughing at her. 'Pursue Kiba'?. That was a funny thought.

Naruto could picture the two holding hands on a walk then, one saying something stupid and ending up with a with a severely bruised if not broken hand. Or maybe they would be eating at a nice place and suddenly Kiba did something unacceptable to the girls standards and Sakura would force feed him his dinner and try to drown him with the drink he ordered. Actually would probably end up fighting over where to go and wouldn't even make it out the front door because of the disagreement. Both of them were headstrong and had to be in control, although if they compromised they would be able to work something out. But that meant they would have to swallow their pride.

Their relationship would be doomed.

"What's that guy doing?" Sakura muttered elbowing Naruto in the stomach with little force, just enough to make him jump in surprise. The boy had spaced out pretty good.

Naruto ignored his pain and looked out into the crowd, he just looked over it a minute ago, he didn't see anything abnormal. Just a bunch of people running around trying to get a bit of last minute shopping done. Some carts being set up randomly around town. Every now and then you would see an old weirdo looking around muttering to himself and cursing the heavens because they couldn't find the right store.

Sakura showed the boy a little mercy and tilted her head to one of the shops that was shaded by a bigger building. "That guy, he looks like he's looking for something. The store with the painted sign."

He saw a guy looking around observantly, searching for something. The guy look familiar, Naruto was sure he had seen him before. It took a few seconds for it to register but as soon as it did a glared at the un-welcomed visitor guy. "It's that guy who was looking at Hinata ". He mutter venomously, hoping the guy would back down from his glare. Apparently he didn't have such luck, the other male was too self-assured.

Looking back and forth between the two she saw the glaring match and, with a sly smile plant on her face she looked over at Naruto trying not to look to sneaky. Not that he was looking at her anyway. "Who is he?"

"I don't know just some stupid stock boy from the town we visited yesterday. . ." Naruto didn't like the guy being here, what reason did a guy like that have being in there village?

Everything about the guy infuriated him from the way he was giving him that evil smile to the way he was just standing there like he was allowed to be there. The guy hadn't even spoken a word to him even if he did it wouldn't end nicely.

He really didn't like him being in the same village as Hinata. He didn't like him breathing the same air as Hinata. The guy was definitely looking for her, bu what could he do. The guy hadn't done anything yet and as long as he had permission he was allowed in the village. Naruto felt like going to check on Hinata, but what if the guy followed him? He'd be leading him right to her.

Naruto was starting to fidget a little, his feet either scraping against the dirt. Like he was unsure if he should move or not. His hands looking like they were ready incase the boy tried to attack. The only thing that didn't move were his eyes, which were still giving the boy a death glare. Sakura thought they looked like two animals challenging each other to a fight.

"Sakura, What do we do?" Naruto asked in a low voice barely moving his mouth as he spoke.

The pink haired girl blinked, her attention being pulled away from how many towns were within a days travel and how to locate which one and, being pushed into the current situation. We? He was asking her? "What do you mean?" How was she supposed to know. Contrary to popular belief, thanks to Kiba, she wasn't a guy. She didn't know how guys solved their problems with male rivals, she had only seen Naruto and Sasuke fight all the time but that was more of a bonding thing. These two were fighting over Hinata.

"Should I go check on Hinata?"

Sakura for a second wanted to hug the blond. It was adorable. He was jealous and worried about her. Perhaps more on the jealous side though. " I think Hinata will be fine."

"Yeah, but he-"

"Naruto. Just trust Hinata. Your jealously will just get you into trouble, and besides the boys a civilian, your really not allowed to touch him." She scolded, placing her hands on her hips.

Naruto gave her a quick glance before looking back at the other male. She had a point, he could take that guy down with one and if he had to, Hinata could do the same for that matter. She could probably have this guy in tears before he laid a hand on her. Naruto mentally smirked at the image. However, if he did, he could get into a lot of trouble and probably be completely destroyed by Tsunade.

He still wanted to check on Hinata.

"We're going anyway." He ordered grabbing her arm and heading towards Hinata's house.

Okay maybe he was overreacting and being a little protective over her, but what else was he supposed to do? Stand back while that jerk tried to win her over and remove him from the picture? Hell no. That guy was irritating beyond belief and he might not physically pose a threat but, he was still a threat.

Besides, Hinata, didn't belong with him. Even Hinata, knew that. She wouldn't leave him and go with the other guy for anything. Would she?

No she told him herself that she had only ever liked him, she had proof of that in her bag. She had three years worth of work in the form of their names written together decorated with fancy doodles. The talks they had yesterday, about how she was more then willing to wait for him to clear his mind, sort out his own feelings and how he would learn about how these relationships really worked at a more steady pace. She wasn't about to just throw him away for that new guy.

So why did he want to see her so bad. He knew he could trust her, she could defend herself even if she couldn't, being in her own village anyone of their teammates or allies would immediately help her, or anyone for that matter, if they saw anything going on. If Hinata was home there would be no way he would even be able to get near her. So why did he need to see her?

Sakura looked at the blond who was dragging her along, looking determined. She didn't see the point of seeking Hinata out. That guy wouldn't gain any interest from the girl, if anything she would probably be as oblivious as Naruto is when someone flirts with him. Even so she was to dedicated to the boy to even look at another guy.

Rolling her eyes she followed him, wondering why people let her drag them around if it made there wrist feel like a stress relief ball.

=-=-=-=-=-

"Father, I got everything on the list and I stopped by the shop. They said that your package will arrive in a couple days." Hinata said as she placed the bags on the table and looked at her father, who just nodded.

Hinata quickly put everything away and then started putting a pot of tea on. "H-how were things around here this morning?" She asked quietly, ever since the mission there father had been more silent then normal and she wondered if maybe it had to do with Naruto.

"I got a letter from Takara. . ." She tried again. Still nothing and she really was getting worried. "Father. . ."

"What did it say?" He asked quickly not looking up from the paper in front of him.

Hinata was dumbstruck for a second by her fathers quick evasion of what he knew she was trying to ask. Dodging questions and changing subjects wasn't normal for her father. But, what would be on his mind that he would be trying to avoid?

"Hinata."

His stern voice caught her attention again and she quickly regained her composure. "I-It said that the woman that attacked us was her aunt, Minna's mother. That she was living with Minna and her fiancé since her father died recently. But while she was staying there she heard their plans to steal the scroll. Someone was offering a lot of money for it. When they found out she knew they decided they would use her to get a ransom out of their grandfather." Hinata paused a few seconds to sit down by her father. "Takara's parents left her a lot of money and her grandfather was the head of their village. So the ransom. . . ."

Hiashi looked at his daughter watching her wring her hands nervously. As a father he wanted to comfort her, but as the head of the family he wanted her to learn to keep those types of emotions hidden. "So they decide to not only steal our scroll and sell it but to kidnap and hold their own family member captive for money. "

"Y-yes, And Minna's mother was in jail until they broke her out so they could use her as a distraction and as a protector. She was in one of the top high security prisons. Mass murder and illegal studies on the human body. Specifically, because of an injection that she made that shut down the part of your mind that let you feel pain but, it had a. . .side effect. She couldn't stop taking it, because it would have killed her. After a while it started to effect her state of mind and she turned violent. She never got a chance to find an antidote for it."

"I see. . ."

She looked at him as he went back to his paper, seemingly uninterested. She thought that he would have wanted to hear the information about what had happened and why it happened. He just seemed more keen on avoiding her. She wanted to tell him about the guy that had been following her earlier, but he didn't seem to be in the mood to listen right now.

Looking down at her hands she placed the in her lap, trying desperately to keep them still. "Is there anything else you need from town?"

Still refusing to look at her, he stood up. "No, but you should go work on your technique for a while. I'll let you know if something comes up."

Watching her father walk out of the room she sat frozen in place. Was he mad at her? Of course she knew that he wasn't pleased with her getting captured. But was he really that disappointed in her. Naruto and her friends saw her quick movements at the time brave, but maybe her father saw them as reckless. She put her life in danger, purposely without thinking about the consequences. All she had thought about was making sure he was safe, she didn't think about a strategy she saw the attack coming towards him and panicked.

She hadn't thought like a ninja at the time. She hadn't really thought at all.

Standing up, she went to grab the pot off the stove and sat it on the counter. Was she was back to square one with her father, completely. Or was he just angry for now. Did he think of her as weak again because of her mistake or did he loose all faith in her.

Her thoughts distracted her as she went out into the yard to train. Maybe if she trained hard enough her father would know it was just a mistake that she had made, that she wasn't still weak.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Naruto and Sakura stopped just outside the Hyuuga place. He had long since let go of her wrist after many death threats and insults.

He could see a small figure out in the yard, he knew right away, by the way that it moved, that it was Hinata. He was happy to see her well enough to be training again. The wounds she had gotten during the mission weren't little, the medics had a hard time healing them properly.

He, silently, moved closer watching her attack the invisible enemy with more concentration then was actually needed. Her movements sometime looked like a dance, the way she would spin to kick or how her hands would move fluidly when she worked with her chakra.

"Hey. Are you going down or what?" Sakura asked seeming highly amused by something.

Naruto nodded, not really paying attention until he was being pulled down into the yard by the girl. If he had been paying more attention he would have shook his head no. He only wanted to see if she was okay, he didn't want to bug her. He did that in the morning before she informed him that she had things she needed to take care of at her home before she could go anywhere. Which was a very disappointing conversation.

Now she was looking at him, confused, but smiling and he didn't know what to say. Good thing Sakura was there with him.

"I thought you had errands today. Why are you training by yourself? Couldn't you have gone with Shino and Kiba wouldn't that have made more progress?" She asked the girl as she surveyed the yard. Taking in every detail of damage it had taken from previous training sessions, from the hole infested trees to the missing patches of green.

Hinata's smile faded and she shook her head looking down at her feet. "I was but father told me that he wanted me to work on my technique. . ."She trailed off, once again thinking about her fathers distant behavior.

Naruto was now the one who was confused. He knew the girl was sensitive but, getting upset because her father told her she needed to train more? In the line of work she chose, of course she needed to train more. She always would, they all would. So, did he miss something.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it like that, Hinata." Sakura stated in a sympathetic tone, trying to offer the other girl a little bit of comfort. But it wasn't any use and the heiress just went silent.

And now the blond was positive he missed something. "Mean it like what? All he wants her to do is train a little, what is wrong with that?"

Hinata kept her gaze on the grassy floor. She didn't blame Naruto for his words, he hadn't caught on, probably wouldn't until it was out in the open. But, she didn't know if she could tell him that she was still so weak. That she was still incapable of being a good ninja. What would he think.

"Naruto! Just how dense are you. Do you actually have a brain in that thick skull of yours at all?!" Sakura shouted at him from her spot by a decently grown tree, that was currently housing a species of bird they couldn't identify, in a wooden bird house.

The blonde gave her a sour look. He probably didn't have any brains left after she had taken up the hobby of abusing him since they were twelve. "What are you talking about?" He asked looking away from her and to the depressed girl looked like she wanted to cry.

Sakura walked over to him glaring. "Naruto, you are completely clueless when it comes to her family issues aren't you." She hissed.

He could see she was annoyed with him, but what did her family issues have to due with training? "Sakura, just tell me what's going on." he pleaded, hoping it didn't actually sound like a plea. Though if it would help him figure out what was going on with Hinata he didn't mind. Besides, both him and Sakura both knew that if she didn't tell him, then it would be days before he figured it out.

Sakura sighed, exasperated. "Naruto" She sighed out his name in an exasperated tone, trying to look stern. Though looking at his clueless face was like a one way ticket to folding in a game of poker. It was hopeless the boy would take to long to figure it out on his own.

"She thinks her father is telling her to train because he thinks she's weak." she whispered so Hinata wouldn't hear the words. She didn't want Hinata getting upset over it. Not that the girl wasn't freaking out over already.

Naruto blinked and glanced over at Hinata. "That's not true he doesn't think that!" He shouted, instantly wishing he hadn't. She jumped, startled from the outburst and now looking at him with surprised eyes.

She didn't want to look at him. She hadn't planned to look up at all, but she couldn't help but give her full attention to the blond at his loud exclamation. The question of wether or not he knew how loud he could get sometimes ghosted threw her mind fleetingly.

More important however was what she should say to him. She didn't have a response that wouldn't cause him to get even more upset. He would just disagree with her anyway, and her telling him different would only cause an argument between them which, she didn't have the heart to follow through with. She didn't even have enough courage to speak up and tell him he was wrong anyway, he seemed so confident that he was right.

So she just stood there, not knowing what to do.

However the other female had never felt the urge to knock her teammate across the horizon so strongly in her life. Why was he just standing there. The least he could do was elaborate on why he didn't think Hinata's father was reconsidering his daughters strength.

He had originally came here just to see if Hinata was okay. He wasn't even going to talk to her, just take a quick look to see if she was unharmed and yes maybe he was still worried that the guy had talked to her. What guy wouldn't get a little worried when some other guy was practically stalking their girl? He just wasn't expecting to actually talk to her. Of course he wanted to but she told him she had chores and errands and then started explaining some complicated stuff and after that he couldn't of spaced out. But he could help it, at least he tried to stay focused.

Another thing he wasn't expecting was this, Hinata, clearly upset and once again her self-esteem was dropping. He wanted to help her, but he couldn't prove that her dad did think she was worthless and he would hug her but with them being fully aware and Sakura standing there, he had a feeling it would get a little awkward. She was the only one there other then them. It would be weird.

He walked over to her slowly. It was only a few feet away. Her being by a piece of training equipment, it was just habit to stand back a distance. "Hinata. . .I'm positive that's not why your father told you to work on your abilities."

His voice was still loud but, he wasn't yelling and for that Hinata was grateful. "But. . .Why would he?" She asked bringing her hands in front of her and pushing her finger together. She started trying to figure out another reason in her own mind, hoping he was right.

Naruto, wondered himself why the man had told her to train, maybe she just it the wrong way or maybe he just wanted her to get stronger. The last mission she was on she almost didn't make it back, that had troubled him a bit It had showed down in the tunnels when the man had snapped at him. He just probably didn't want to seem like he was being paranoid.

"I bet he's just worried about you." He spoke up, grabbing her hands to stop the constant movement. He never understood why she did that. He did know that it meant she was uncomfortable about something.

Why would her father be worried about her? She wasn't in danger and nobody was threatening them, so him being worried would be unnecessary. Where was Naruto even getting his evidence from or was he just guessing on what the reason actually was?

Defeated Hinata looked down again, this time looking at their hands. "M-maybe you're right. . ."

Naruto knew she was still unsure but he had the feeling that he wouldn't get it through to her by yelling it at her. He just smiled as he spoke. "Well, if you want, when Kiba and Shino aren't around Sakura and I could help you train. I'll help you with whatever you need help with and Sakura is awesome with chakra control. And we can all spar together, It'll be fun!"

She thought about it for a minute. It wasn't like she would accomplish much training alone. And her other teammates weren't always available, either missions or doing chores for their families. Naruto, sadly, didn't have a family to keep him busy, he'd almost always be there, and sakura was usually with him. They were also two of the strongest people she knew, they could really help her.

". . .I-if it's really okay with you and Sakura ." She replied, looking back up and over to Sakura who gave her a huge smile.

"Of course, I'd be happy to help!" She chirped. Her answer caused Hinata to give a small smile of gratitude back to the girl.

Grinning, Naruto separated the girls hand still holding them in his own and, started swinging them idly. He was happy that the meek girls spirits had been lifted somewhat. That meant the topic of her father was dying, Maybe now was a good time to change the subject completely. "So, Hinata." he started, pausing as both girls looked at him curiously, "Talk to any one strange today?"

"Huh?" She wondered where such a random question would com from. She hadn't talked to any one but her father and the store clerks. But maybe she could tell him about that guy that was following her this morning.

The blond shook his head the grin faded in to a small barely noticeable smirk. "Never-mind" He said with childish mischief in his voice and swinging their arms with a bit more energy.

Sakura took in a deep breath, resisting the urge to harm her friend in anyway. You could always Naruto to ruin a nice moment with stupid comment.

* * *

**_Once again I wasn't sure how to end it. I was typing and it was sort of just dragging along and really it has to stop somewhere. Not much happened sorry but I wasn't to sure how to bring about the next part of the story and then I figured this could probably work out for that. . ._**

**_Now if I could get myself just as motivated fore the next chapter, lol_**


	25. Undeserving

**_I know I'm horrible! It's been what? three months? I just really haven't been in much of a writing mood. Plus sharing a computer isn't helping. Hopefully no one has lost hope in this story. . .It's going to get finished I promise. _**

**_Anyhow, um. . .here's this chapter. Hopefully it's not as bad as I think it is. It has more point then the last chapter but. . .yeah _**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. . . ._**

**Step 15: Undeserving**

* * *

It had been almost a week since he had spotted that other guy in the village and interrupted Hinata's training. Which after Sakura and him left. The pink haired girl turned into a Tsunade clone and whacked him on the head countless times calling him varies words that all meant one thing. Stupid. Then to make him even more confused, she hadn't told him what it was that he had done.

Hinata had told him about the 'strange guy' that had been following her around and even he wasn't dumb enough to not know who it was. The guy was probably trying to find out where she lived and find the best chance to approach her. It was what he had figured the guy was up to from the start. He was surprised that Hinata wasn't aware of it. Her most likely theory was that he was trying to finish what the enemy had started on the last mission, retrieving the scroll and selling it.

Naruto wished he was that lucky.

"Naruto are you even paying attention!"

Jumping at Sakura voice he quickly forced a smile. "Yeah, of course!" he exclaimed, watching as she gave him a skeptical look. "You and Ino were fighting over what color flowers would look best in the hospital's waiting room."

Sakura gave him one good whack on the back of the head. "That was over ten minutes ago. Your spacing again." She stated accusingly.

Naruto gave her a sour look. There wasn't any real force behind the attack but, his head was still extremely sore from the previous injuries she had made sure he received at least once a day until he figured out what he did wrong. "I can't help it. What do I care about the interior of the hospital? I only go in there when I'm severely injured, then I lie in the bed bored for a couple days and leave. I don't really spend my time looking at the walls."

Crossing her arms she glared. "No you spend your idle time trying to escape." She said returning the look as if his escape routine was a personal insult to her.

"Not my fault it's boring in there, and we both know I'm kept in there longer then I need to be anyway."

The female gave a frustrated sigh. "You have no respect for the medical field do you. They have to be positive your okay. Fast healer or not."

The blond for once decided not to continue the arguement and wisely kept quiet. How did he end up listening to sakura rant about her 'Ino problems' any way? When they first ran into each other she was complaining about the line being to lone at the store. Was talking about random subjects on whim a girl thing or a Sakura thing? Or did people just do it without realizing it?

"You know, I never did ask you what you were up to. I've been following you around for at least a half hour and I think your going in circles."

Either Sakura was extremely bored or avoiding something. Otherwise she wouldn't have been following someone who was going in circles in the first place. "I wondering if I should look for Hinata."

Sakura tilted her head to the side thought fully. "Your wondering _if_ you should look for Hinata. Why shouldn't you. You haven't seen her for a few days, She'd be thrilled to see you."

"Yeah but she's been training really hard. I don't want to ruin that for her. I'd be getting in the way if she's in the middle of doing something."

"When has that ever stopped you?" The pink haired girl laughed earning another annoyed look from the male. "Look if you really want to see her, go see her. If she's been training non-stop she's probably due for a break, right?"

Smiling naruto nodded. "Yeah. Shino's probably driving her crazy by now and both Shino and Kiba are definitley causing her to to have a mental break down from arguing."

"Exactly. Now why don't you go save your princess from the two diabolical villains. I Have to get back to. . .well I have things to do."

Pausing in his steps, choosing to pretend he didn't here the 'rescue the princess' statement he gave her a sceptical look. "Your not going to follow me are you?"

Sakura froze as well giving him a confident smile. "On any other day I would definitely want to see how this would turn out, but I have plans."

He wasn't entirely sure if he believed her but he nodded anyway. Both separating and going in opposite directions.

* * *

Hinata was walking with her team. It was sometime in the afternoon and they were just headed back home after training since before the sun rose. She was completely drained. She had been training by her self last night and didn't get to bed until well after the rest of her family. Then Shino had showed up at around three telling her they had to start earlier then normal because Kiba had a mission.

Of course she had agreed. She didn't want to ask to just call of the training session, It would be like telling them it was a waste of time. Besides it would upset Shino. Depending on his mood he might not saying anything to her, but it would still annoy him.

However right now she was wondering if he was more annoyed that she would probably spend the rest of the day and maybe tomorrow morning recuperating, when she could have just asked to rest today and been fine tomorrow. She was afraid to ask.

"Alright I'm off. I'll let you guy know as soon as I'm back." Kiba said as he stopped walking as the reached the front of the Hokage tower. They had agreed on walking there with him since they wouldn't be able to see him off at the gate. Mostly it was just out of habit. They tried to stick together whenever possible, everyone did.

"Please, be careful." Hinata called after him only getting a wave in response. She knew how reckless he could be sometimes. Usually he was a great ninja, but sometimes he didn't think clearly. It happened to them all at one point or another, even Shino. And even though he was acting cool about it, he was nervous about going off alone.

Kiba disappeared into the building and the two remaining members started walking again. Hinata looked over at Shino worried. He looked calm, but how he was really feeling wasn't exactly always clear. Apperantly Hinata was an open book.

"He'll be fine."

Hinata nodded but her worry didn't disappear at all. She knew that he was saying it so she wouldn't worry as much, but they both knew that a mission was a mission and there was always that chance. "I-it just that he. . .we're not. . ."

"I understand." He said without looking at her.

She wasn't so sure he did understand. She wasn't even sure what she was trying to say. They're not what exactly? She couldn't find the word for it. Invincible, indestructible, immortal?

Hinata pushed the thoughts out of her mind. It wasn't like they went out blindly and fought for the fun of it. They knew what could happen in their line of work, what did happen. But, they did it for the village, to keep the others safe. It was worth the risk.

She looked at Shino again, for some reason he seemed annoyed. Sometimes she wanted to ask him how he was feeling, but past attempt taught her it was futile to even try. She turned her head to face forward again, and was forced to stop as her eye's were covered.

As a child she had only had this done to her a handful of times by members of her family. Usually she would guess the name and end up laughing. However she could already tell who it was. If the smell of ramen didn't give it away the laughter did. She blushed as she smiled. "Naruto."

"How did you know?" he said moving his hand so she could see again. He was completely silent while he got to her and she hadn't spotted him.

Hinata turned to look at him. "You've. . . been at the ramen house." she said, watching an immature pout of defeat take over. She grabbed onto his hand, hoping to ease some of the mental abuse he was putting his inner mind through for going to the ramen house before, spontaneously deciding to sneak up on people. ". . .and your laugh is recognizable."

The blond's face instantly brightened. "What are you two doing around here? I thought you guys were training around now. I was on my way over there to. . .never mind." He stopped himself remembering that Shino had a rigid out look when it came to, well everything. He definitely wouldn't have approved of him interfering with Hinata's training.

The darker haired male was definitely glaring the blond, even if he couldn't see it. "We had are session earlier since Kiba had a mission. We walked him to the Hokage's."

Naruto grinned, "So Hinata's free now, right?" he looked at the girl who nodded.

Whether he was ignorant to the Aburame's angry stare or he just wasn't bothered by it, they couldn't tell. However, bothe Hinata and Shino both assumed he wasn't aware. No one really ever was.

"So can we go get lunch and then I can walk you home? You look tired." The blond asked tugging on her hand already, as if that was going to help her decide.

She looked at Shino for a moment, pleadingly. When he turned and started walking away she smiled. "I'll see you later, Shino." She called after him, waving even though he couldn't see it. She was happy that he didn't get angry. Usually he found importance on the walks home. That was when they went over what she needed to work on and where she was starting to slack off. He let her skip out on the lecture part of his training.

Smiling she gave Naruto, a nod and started walking with him. He still smelt strongly of his favorite ramen place. The smell would probably stick to him until his clothes were washed. Then, he might have to put them in again for good measure. Actually, he probably had a permanent faint scent of ramen on them anyway. "Naruto, You just ate. W-why would you want to go eat again? You'll get sick."

"N-no way. I could have kept eating those noodles all day! But they were getting pretty busy and they started taking a long time to get done, so I decide to not bother them anymore." He said with a laugh. Looking around the streets for a moment before he focused on her again. "So, where do you want to go?"

Hinata wasn't sure why Naruto was lying, but calling him out on it didn't seem like a good thing to do at the time. "Why don't you choose. Last time I chose you almost got sick." she mumbled remembering the foods she was trying to get him to try. It didn't matter if he liked them or not, but she wanted him to be able to at least stomach some of it because of the dinner party her father had. Liking the food was even difficult for her. She only ate it when she had to.

Naruto must have been thinking the same thing because he had agreed too eagerly. However, he stopped and looked around the streets again. "Um. . . Oh, I know!" He said and started hurrying down the street, dragging her along. If he kept this up, her bones would eventually grow a resistance to being pulled out of their sockets. Or stretch long enough to touch the ground. Which ever came first.

* * *

Sakura and Ino where in the flower shop, arguing over what would look better in the waiting room. Roses, tulips, maybe a bouquet of mixed flowers. Of course, Ino argued over everything Sakura suggest, saying that Sakura's lack of knowledge in decorating was a major flaw in her personality.

The pink haired girl would have been lying if she said that she wasn't effected at all by the blond girls comment. She also be lying if she said she didn't blame any of this on the Hokage. Shizune decided after a month of talking it over with a couple other workers, that maybe a little bit of color in the hospital would cheer the place up a bit. Well, Shizune's exact words were, 'Calm down Hokage, and maybe bring a little more peace to the building when she's there.'

Tsunade had been on edge since the attack on the village during the mission a while back. It seemed that she was waiting for a sign or something. Maybe a letter of demands and threats or simply, another attack. Either way, there were still a lot of people there from the first attack, some of the already healed returning from not following doctors orders, The normal injuries from missions and sick villager and on top of it all, Tsunade was still interogating that woman and trying to find a cure for her.

Maybe the Blonde woman had a right to be stressed.

"And why are we not picking out the trim and furniture before the flowers again?" Sakura sighed as Ino held up a red flower that personally The pink haired girl couldn't care enough about to remember the name of.

Ino gave the girl a disbelieving look. How many time did she have to repeat her self to the pink a haired girl. "For the Last time, Forehead girl, You want the flowers to be the center of attention, the Furniture and trim should compliment the flowers, not the other was around. We're going to use those as a. . .Like a background to a painting. The flowers are the subject everything else is just there for decoration."

"It's all decoration, The main focuse is the Hospital itself and the patients these decorations are supposed to calm."

"Really, Sakura, How can you be so. . .so-"

"If your going to insult my intelligence or femininity again, I'm going to murder you."

The blond rolled her eye's, bored with the threat. "Maybe if you'd actually try and remember some of the things that I taught you about flower arrangement we wouldn't go through this."

"You work in a flower shop, Ino. I work at a hospital. You need a creative mind and charm. I need Logic and consentration."

She felt as if she had been insulted and when to shout something at the other however, the store bell caught her attention. Wiping the ugly anger from her face and replacing it with a cheery smile she turned around and walk to the counter. She saw a boy walking around the shop, looking through roses of different colors.

Leaning over the counter she gave a quick analyzing glance and then smirked. He was grinning and had that look in his eyes. He was looking for a romantic flower to a give to love interest. This would be a quick sale. "Can I help you?"

Sakura's smile dropped when she recognized the guy browsing through the flowers. It was the guy who had been following Hinata around and giving Naruto those smug looks. She thought he had left a while ago. When did he get back into the village?

Instead of actually helping Ino sell flowers, she grabbed her arm and pulled the blond back behind the counter. "You can't sell him flowers Ino."

Ino glared at the other girl and rolled her eyes for a second time. "It's my job Sakura." She stated irritated and taking in the dark look that had quickly spread across the pink haired girls face. "What's your problem?"

"That's the guy that's been stalking Hinata. He's trying to win her over."

Shaking her head, Ino crossed her arms. "You worry to much. Even if she does receive flowers It doesn't promise that this guy will win her love. Giving roses to a girl is only a show of affection, to let someone know you care. It's not a claim on the girl."

Sakura herself placed her hands on her hips and glared. "And when do you think Naruto will ever give her flowers. He's not a romantic. If that guy starts showing her all this affection she's going to get confused."

"Your thinking to logically. . .Why don't you see it from Hinata's point of view. Naruto is the love of her life and has been for years. She's even got the patience to wait until he can sort out his own feelings for her. The one you should be worried about is Naruto him self." Ino said, poking the other girl in the forehead, a habit from years of arguing.

The blond watched the girl blink before looking at the floor in thought. Great she was plotting something. Holding back a frustrated yell, Ino settled on a disapproving sigh. "I'm going to go make that sale. You sit back here and come up with your failure ideas"

* * *

Eventually they had ended up a small place. It had been almost empty, only a few groups and couples scattered around but there was still a loud murmur of voices you'd here at any other place you went.

They order and ate talking about everything from Hinata's training to Naruto sneaking in the school and moving thing around in Iruka's class room just to annoy him. Even moving his pencils where he kept the some files and hiding the files in a box outside side of one of the window on a ledge. He was just that bored.

Then they were walking to Hinata's, Naruto complaing from a stomachache and Hinata giving him an apologetic look as if it was her fault.

"N- Naruto? Are you sure your alright? You don't want to rest?" She asked her voice shaking slightly from worry. Stomach pains weren't serious, but the blond looked like his meal was about to come back up. If he wasn't so stubborn and just sat down and let his stomach settle, maybe he'd feel better.

Naruto laughed and shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine really. I can handle it!" He sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself then Hinata.

He was surprised although he really shouldn't have been, She hadn't said anything even similar to 'I told you so.' She just kept asking if he needed to rest or if he was positive that he was okay. Sure it was slightly annoying to have to repeat himself and tell her he was fine but in the end it was still sweet.

"Beside's your house is right there." He smiled and pointed to the house. The house intimidated him, or rather the fact that the house belong to a higher ranking family and a bit of a wealthy one. He on the other hand lived in a small dirty rundown apartment and while he knew how to save money, still found himself low on cash sometimes.

It was only natural for him to not want Hinata's father to be standing there when he walked her home like he was doing now, Holding flowers.

Why was the man standing there, Holding flowers?

Perhaps he was too curious for his own good, He didn't even notice that hinata was dragging him along with her and up the walkway until they reached the other man.

"F-father?" Hinata questioned looking at the flowers. Her fathers only response was a stern look as he handed them to her. She let go of Naruto's hand and examined the roses, reading the card that came with it. Her eyes widened and she nearly dropped them. But, the more she reread the card the more angry she got. Soon she was giving the flowers the same look her father was.

This had Naruto confused. What could flowers do to make someone so angry?

"Hinata?" He placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump out of her thoughts. He would have found it amusing to have caught her off guard and her shocked expression priceless if his mind wasn't already set on the plants. "What's going on?"

Hinata wasn't sure what to say. How could she explain it when she didn't even know who sent them. She really didn't even want to tell him, but keeping something like that from him didn't seem fair. If her father knew he would most likely tell Neji and the rest of the family, just to make sure she was watched over. Shino would probably figure something out and tell Kiba and then Naruto would be last to know. She didn't think it would be right so she handed him the roses.

Naruto gave her a blank expression, not sure what to do with the bundle of thorn covered stems and red petals. He figured he'd do what Hinata did. He turned the thing over until he got to the card and opened it.

'_He doesn't deserve you' _

It was written in scratchy print and looked as if it was written in a rush. The card didn't have a name anywhere one it but Naruto didn't need one to know who sent them.

Everyone in town knew him and Hinata were. . .whatever they were, and no one had a problem with it. If they did they would have said something. The only coward he knew was the stupid grocery store boy.

Naruto handed the roses back to Hinata. "I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow." He said running off, ignoring anything she was saying to him. He'd visit her tomorrow after he got a hold of that jerk.

* * *

_That's the best I could do. . .oh well. . .I got snow to cheer me up! It blocked in the cars and everything. . .well it's exciting to me at least. we don't get snow like this often. . ._

_Well before I completely embarass myself I will go play PS2 or something. . ._

_lol?_


	26. Misguided

**So sorry this took so long. There was alot of stress going on then the computer started acting up. . .I wasn't going to put anything up until I got a new computer but I doubt I'll get a new one anytime soon. So I typed this crap of a chapter up just so that there was something there. Sorry for it's shortness and it's lack of anything really going on, but It's something right?**

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto**_

**Step 16 - Misguided**

* * *

Okay, so maybe handing the flowers back to Hinata wasn't such a good move. It couldn't have been if he kept getting yelled at, insulted and hit on the head with random objects. If Sakura or Ino hit him one more time he was going to get brain damage.

It just didn't make any sense. Everyone had told him to keep his mouth shut when it came to the other guy. To back off and trust Hinata to not get pulled in by the guy. Then, when the guy did pursue her and he took their advice, they scolded him. What did they want him to do?

Did they even know how much will power it took to not take those flowers and stomp on them and tear that little card up right then and there? Of course not, they hadn't been there.

Now according to his friends, mainly just Sakura and Ino since everyone else was either away or just not around, of course giving the girl space was the wrong thing to do because she would think he didn't care. Why did he even ask them for help in the first place?

Sure, he didn't know much about relationships like these, but apparently they didn't know anything either if they kept changing there mind about everything. Why were girls so confusing? They were nosy, gossipy, high maintenance, prissy, and completely insane.

Alright maybe he was being a little unfair. Though can you really blame him? The girls he knew weren't exactly the calm and quiet type. Well Hinata, was and that was nearly the only exception. Tenten wasn't so bad as long as she wasn't angry and Ino and Sakura weren't all bad. They were just confusing the hell out of him.

Sighing Naruto, stood up from the ground feeling even more frustrated then when he had originally got there. He had planned on coming to the training field to try and clear his mind. However, all he ended up with were raw knuckles and a need for a shower. He wasn't insane with hygiene, but even he knew one constantly needed to keep up with it unless they wanted to get sick and he didn't like the hospital.

He hadn't even seen Hinata in four days. Though he had seen that kid, the one who was trying to win her over. The kid was an arrogant jerk. He knew Naruto couldn't touch him unless he was a danger to the other people in the village and he reveled in it. He had let Naruto see him go into the flower shops and different stores, getting little presents for Hinata.

Naruto knew it wouldn't work that way. Hinata might have been a little embarrassed by the gifts and appreciated them to an extent. She might even like the small amount of attention she was getting from her 'secret' admirer. She was a girl. Girls liked attention and to know that they were liked. Ino was very good example of it.

But, Hinata wouldn't fall in love with someone just because of flowers and candy. What point was there in that. It showed that he had money, that was it. The guy didn't even have the guts to talk to her face to face. He was a coward hiding behind cards and flowers.

No, that wasn't right either. He couldn't say that, because Hinata hadn't told him anything at all. He had found out from other people that she had harbored feeling for him since they were twelve. Even though the evidence should have been obvious to him.

Maybe he should ask some one else other then Sakura for advice. Iruka or Shikamaru would probably be best. Iruka, was older and seemed to know what he was talking about and Shikamaru, had a crazy yet stable relationship with Temari. He would go to Shikamaru first then Iruka.

'_Heh at this point I'd rather go to Grandma for advice then face Sakura's wrath again.' _He thought as he entered his home and got ready for bed.

* * *

"Look, I don't care what you think. Just do it biscuit breath!" Sakura yelled shoving the small bag into the guys chest.

Kiba glared at her and smacked the bag out of her hand. "No." He stated firmly, stepping on the bag as the girl went to pick it up. "We had this discussion before Sakura. Naruto has to do things on his own. Spying on them I'll tolerate but I'm not helping you get involved in their problems. Especially when there isn't one to begin with. Hinata loves Naruto, she has for years. She's not about to leave him just because some random nutcase is placing material things on her porch."

Sakura stood there for a moment, thinking. Then she pointed her finger at him. "Bu-"

"Hinata understands things about Naruto that I don't think even Naruto understands. If he handed her those flowers back, I can bet you all the money in my wallet Hinata knows why and doesn't need some fancy and expensive form of apology." He cut her off smirking confidently.

Groaning with frustration, Sakura kicked Kiba's foot off the paper bag and picked it up. As she stood she gave him a smirk of her own. "You know. . .You're starting to sound a lot like Shino." She said, waiting for the comment to sink in.

Kiba gave her a blank stare. "And with all your snoopy around and scheming you're starting to act a lot like Naruto."

Ino stood back with a nervous smile and watched the two stare each other down. The last encounter she seen like this was between Kankurou and Shikamaru and it hadn't ended well. Though that was courtesy of Temari getting in the middle of it.

"Flea breeder."

"Self-righteous harpy."

"Okay!" Ino cut in stepping in between the two. "Now that we've decide to leave ourselves out of the moron's love life, would you kindly take your fight outside and at least a mile away from the shop? Thank you for stopping by!" She hadn't even bothered to hide the frightened tone in her voice. She wasn't afraid of the actual fight that could occur, but of the damage to the shop. She spent months taking care of the flowers, they were like pets. And pets are usually part of a family.

Sakura glared at the blond for a moment then gritted her teeth and left. She would have rather stayed and put kiba in his place, but as a the Hokage's student she couldn't afford to have something like destruction of property and vandalism on her record.

Kiba left as well but made sure to avoid the pink haired girl. Nothing about his record, He just didn't feel like hearing her yell.

Hinata sat at her window and looked out to the yard, thinking. She hadn't seen Naruto for a while. True it had only been four days but that was unusual. Normally the blond would find out where she was just to pop up out of nowhere. Whether she was training or shopping it didn't matter.

Like the day when he stole her away form Shino's lecture. However, with everything to concider she didn't blame him. That note that was left with the flowers probably reversed everything she had told him about their 'dating' situation.

* * *

They had just started to become secure with the fact that she was dating him. He had already thought they shouldn't be together because of his lack of money and the fact that a lot of the town still despised him. She didn't care what they were thinking though, She had even told her father that and told him that she would see the blond with or without his approval.

He didn't like it all, but gave her a stiff angry nod.

Then after that mission where they had to repossess the Scrolls the male had become protective. It was only slightly annoying to be protected, but she was ecstatic that he was protecting her. To her it wasn't that he thought she couldn't stand on her own. No, to her it was that he cared, that he was worried about her and didn't want her to get hurt. He might not have noticed it but he was showing her that did care for her.

Though, he stopped one day. After him and Sakura had there weekly talk about his personal life. Before Hinata thought it was sweet that, Sakura, was always worried about him. After that talk though, Hinata didn't think it was so sweet. Sakura was trying to give him advice and it was nice thing for her to do. She had good intention.

But the advice was confusing him. Sakura might have known how she wanted to be treated by a guy, but hintata wasn't Sakura. While Naruto's, instinctive protectiveness and clear jealousy didn't follow Sakura's 'Rules to Romance.' didnt mean that every girl would shun his behavior. Hinata herself like Naruto the way he was. She understood that Naruto.

She understood why Naruto was awkward when it came to dates and actions beyond friendship. He might of had a crush on sakura before, but that's all he had. He might have snuck Kakashi's books and read a chapter here and there and he might have thought about dating before. She couldn't recall him ever having a girlfriend before. That why he stumped on what to do in his current position. He knew what everything was how it was supposed to be, but what he was supposed to do and what he wanted to do were different.

Like flowers, he knew it was somewhat of a traition to give the girl flowers. Only he didn't see a reason in giving the girl flowers. Hinata wouldn't be surprised if Naruto showed up one day with two packages of instant ramen grinning and asking if she wanted to have lunch with him.

She also got why Naruto gave the flowers back. He was following Sakura's advice to 'back off and let her make the choices.' But the other female apparently didn't understand that Naruto's actions would never be the same as every other guy. It wasn't just because of his childhood. It was just his personality.

Naruto didn't like holding back how he was feeling and always expressed it in one way or another. At first when he handed back the flowers she had been confused. She quickly figured out what had happened though.

All this just reminded her of the fact that Naruto was confused and a confused Naruto was a very stressed Naruto. Perhaps it would be for the best if she found him and had a talk with him before his brain got any more scrambled then it was right now.

Standing up she opened her window and jumped off, focusing fully on finding the blond.

And of course nothing ever works out as planned. The first person Hinata had run into was the guy who had been following her around.

The male smiled politely. "Hello, Hinata."

On the inside Hinata was a little taken aback, outwardly she seemed embarrassed. The boy had spoken to her as if he knew her. She wanted to ask him where he learned her name but that would have been pointless. There wasn't a point in knowing that. "Can I help you?"

Her tone might of been polite but the male figured that the truth behind the words where probably more along the lines of 'What do you want?'

Instead of speaking the man held out a flower. A deep red rose that was fully in bloom and the spiral was near perfection. Hinata took in the flowers appearance and knew right away that it came from the flower shop run by Ino's family. There was also one more thing that she realized, and that was that this guy was the one who was leaving the gifts and notes on her porch.

"I don't appreciate you leaving such cruel notes for me to read." It was the first thing that came from her mouth and while she wished it wasn't she was glad at the same time. It gave her a small sense of freedom and self pride to know she was able to push aside her upbringing and speak her mind went it felt truly needed.

The polite smile faultered slightly but he shook his head. "I don't see how the notes where cruel. They were spoken out of love." He said still holding out the flower for her to take.

"A dozen roses and a note that read, 'He doesn't deserve you.'isn't cruel?" Still refusing the rose, she locked her eyes to his. For a moment she felt like a mother scolding a child for playing ball in the house, even more so when his head had tilted in question.

"You didn't like the flowers?"

She shook her head before speaking. "The flowers were beautiful, But those four words ruined the point of your gift." She was trying to remain calm.

"But it's the truth, You deserve someone who can take care of you and give you things you want. Someone better then that idiot. "

"Don't call him that. Despite what you are seeing, He does take care of me and what I want can't be bought." She could feel her voice starting to shake, Her anger was dissappearing quicker then it came and was leaving her with a strange urge to just walk away from this boy.

"You're talking about love right? The thing that can't be bought? You want him to love you? He doesn't act like he's in love with you. From what I heard he doesn't even know how he feels."

"D-don't speak about him like he's a bad person. He's just confused."

The male chuckled. "Confused about what? You either love some one or you don't. It doesn't take that much time to figure it out."

Hinata stayed silent. She had never been in this situation before. She never had someone fighting to win her over. She never had anyone telling her that it was useless to keep her hopes up that Naruto would return her affection. Then again, she never had someone telling her that love was simple, or that it came easily.

It was actually the very opposite. Neji had told her that even if fate had already planned out the ending that the road to reach it could be difficult. She had narrowed it down to 'Love takes time' in her own mind. Her father said that love was simply a process of trial and errors until the two people found harmony.

From what she had seen, what she had witnessed, Love came in different forms. It could be peaceful and equal like Sakura's parents, It could be a comically violent relationship like Shikamaru's parents. It could be equal and chaotic Like Shikamaru's relationship with Temari. Their were even relationships that when you looked at the couple you would have know Idea they were together because they communicated like business partners instead of soulmates.

Hinata had to wonder how many people this boy had 'loved' but she knew she had only loved one person since she was twelve. She shook her head and gave the boy a sympathetic look.. " I don't believe I will ever feel for anyone else what I feel for Naruto. I also believe that true love might come naturally but it needs time to grow."

"Why don't you just understand that the blond coward doesn't love you. He's just stringing you along and will wind up hurting you later. I'm standing right here confessing and promising to give you what you want." He said his grip tightening on the rose.

She could tell the boy was getting upset now, Angry even and she felt guilty for making him feel that way. Even so she couldn't bring her self to comfort him. "I love Naruto."

The man glared at her and reached out to grab her wrist. She easily swatted it away and gave him a stern glare. "Do not touch me." She said as the man gave her the same look.

After a moment of niether of them speaking Hinata walked around the man. She looked back once and seen him walking with his head down as he turned the corner. She also noticed that he had abandoned the flower, which now lay on the ground, its stem broken and a couple petals had broken off.

And as bad as she felt for making the guy feel bad, she didn't think she made the wrong choice in the way she spoke to him. She had only told the truth and hopefully they boy would realize that she was only speaking out of her own knowlegde on the subject and find his own views on the complicated side to love.

* * *

Naruto Stood straight with his back against the wall. He was on his way to visit Shikamuru when he's seen Hinata and that guy talking. He could only hear piece of the conversation and the one thing in his mind that stuck out was, 'I love Naruto.'

Hinata had held so much conviction in those words, Naruto wasn't sure if it had truly been Hinata that was talking. The girl looked like Hinata, sounded like her, but Naruto never heard the timid girl put so much strength and firmness behind her words before. In truth it frightened him, but it mad him relieved at the same time. Relieved that he knew she meant what she had been saying, but frightened because he himself wasn't sure what this feeling he had was.

It wasn't like others had described it as, a warm feeling in your chest. It was a warm feeling throughout his whole body, the 'butterflies' they spoke of was more like giant birds restlessly flocking around and his palms weren't sweating but his heart would pick up slightly at certain point when she was with him.

He remembered the conversation he had with Iruka about those 'little things'. They way she blushed, the way she spoke, The way she would squeak when he surprised her, how determined she became when they would spar eachother, her small nervous stutters. How she would get dizzy from blushing too much, the way she would smell like the flowers from her back yard when she would meet him in the afternoon. The way that scent would mix in with the smell of ramen when they went to Ichiraku's. Naruto never would have thought Ramen could smell so good mixed with flowers.

Then there was the soft tone of her voice when her nerves had calmed down. He liked listening to her voice, even when she was talking about something he didn't care for. But it didn't matter he he liked it or not any way because he like learning new things about her. And the kisses, even though they only kissed a couple times, the feeling of it stayed behind for days after and left him feeling incomplete when it vanished.

There was a lot more that he couldn't list in his head because he really just didn't have the capacity for it. But could taking notice of and remembering those small thing mean he was in love with her. How did that make sense?

Hearing Hinata's footsteps become louder he remained still. Not wanting to get caught but at the same time he hoped he would.

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on which of his sides you asked, she had spotted him, and now she was looking at him with her fiery red face and wide eye's.

Naruto quickly grinned and laughed lightheartedly. "Hey Hinata! Didn't plan on seeing you today."

"H-how long were you standing there for?"

"Long enough to know you love me." the blond teased, smiling as Hinata started to sway from side to side.

It took a minute before the heiress had stopped and her face went back to it's normal color. Whether Naruto already knew how she felt or not, It was still embarrassing that he heard her. But wasn't it a good sign that he hadn't run away? She didn't know for sure, but she did know that she was happy to found him. Now all she had to do was talk to him about asking Sakura for advice.

* * *

Once again sorry that It's not that great but I'll try to put up a more lively chapter next. Either way as long as you know I'm still alive and working on this.


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